LIFE UNDER 
TWO FLAGS 




JAMES DEMAREST EATON 







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CjOEQUGHT DEPOSm 




James Demarest Eaton 



LIFE MDEE TWO FLAGS 



BY 

JAMES DEMAREST EATON 



NEW YORK 

A. S. BARNES AND COMPANY 

1922 






Copyright, 1922 
By JAMES DEMAREST EATON 



OCT 19 '22 

)a.A6S6386 



^0 m^ Wih 



WHO DURING ALMOST FIFTY GOLDEN YEARS 

HAS BEEN A DEAR COMPANION IN THE HOME, 

AN UNFAILING IN8PIRER OF FAITH AND COURAGE, 

AND A TRUSTED COUNSELLOR IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE 

WHICH SHE HAS SHARED TO THE FULL. 

AND 

TO THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN 

WHOSE UNFOLDING LIFE IT IS A JOY TO OBSERVE, 

AND WHO INSIST THAT THERE BE PUT WITHIN THEIR REACH 

A RECORD OF SOME OF THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF 

ONE WHO IS GREATLY ENRICHED BY THEIR LOVE. 



FOREWORD 



This is a book of reminiscences which are cast 
in varied areas, quiet and stormy, at home and 
abroad, and through which runs the evidence of 
a serene and undisturbed productiveness. Rich 
and interesting indeed is any life which has known 
such wide skies and abundant ingathering. Born 
of a great inheritance which he shared with noble 
brothers, enriched by the life-long love of a cour- 
ageous woman, the writer tells with the cheerful- 
ness of youth the story of the strangely diverse 
experiences through which many years have borne 
him. In these days when the seas are strewn with 
wreckage, it is good to hear of ships which are 
brought home so richly laden. 

But the book is more than a volume of reminis- 
cences. Nor is it merely a vindication of the 
promises past and present. It is the record of 
lives spent in a particular form of service. It 
belongs to the literature of the pioneer and it 
quietly unfolds much that is deepest and most 



vi FOREWORD 

characteristic in us as a people. May I venture 
briefly to dwell upon this fact. 

It has been in the nature of the Saxon to love 
the frontier. From his first appearance in history 
he has ever been pushing westward and wherever 
you find him in the last thousand years he is char-* 
acteristically interested in the lands beyond. 
Viewed in this light, the story of the persistent 
quest which is so delightfully told in the follow- 
ing pages is far more than an interesting personal 
and family narrative, entertaining as it is from 
that point of view. I think of it as typical of the 
spirit which won a hemisphere. 

Here, too, are reflected the deeper moods of our 
English and American pioneering. For I do not 
find that the mere love of adventure has ever 
peculiarly satisfied this race. In this aspect the 
passionate breaking with old horizons for the 
romantic novelty of the new environment has be- 
longed perhaps more to the Gallic and Castilian 
natures. The Englishman has sought the unex- 
plored country — that he might there construct a 
more advantageous society. This has been the 
joy and song of his pilgrimage. If he has desired 
to build on no other man's foundation, he has 
nevertheless always desired to build. 

Doubtless this ever-renewed effort to establish 
a better country in the new land has had its pro- 
found influence in turn in shaping the inner tex- 
ture of the American people. For three hundred 
years it has been the dominating attitude in which 



FOREWORD vii 

a large proportion of our people have lived, while 
the romance of the West has been the lure of 
every growing youth. The substantial meaning 
of all this experience in the life of the nation has 
been made the theme of some of the best of our 
historical writings, but much remains yet to be 
understood. Who shall say, for instance, how 
much of the affirmative attitude in our religious 
thinking has been bred out of just this constructive 
aim which has so continuously dominated all our 
effort as a people? 

Of the two frontiers on which Dr. Eaton's life 
has been spent, each has a unique interest. The 
accomplishment of social order in the region be- 
tween the Missouri and the Pacific Ocean is a 
book of thrilling achievement. How fierce were 
the high lights! How swiftly have they passed! 
Extensive as is the literature regarding the 
period, it is inadequate and one regrets the more 
that the crowded years compelled so brief a record 
from one who saw so clearly. 

On the other hand, one may confidently assert 
that the contribution of America to Mexican life 
and thought has hardly begun. From the gentle 
but brave and wise service of Dr. and Mrs. Eaton 
many yet to come shall take heart and strength 
ere the work is fully accomplished. In time there 
will dawn a better day for Mexico. The years do 
not commonly achieve exact justice; but if ever 
they do in this case, there will some day be in 
Mexico a Camino Real and its broad and beaten 



viii FOREWORD 

way will follow the footsteps of these bearers of 
the cross who pushed in faith through the un- 
broken lands. 

Happy have been the days of travel; happier 
may the sunset be I 

James A. Blaisdell 

President of Pomona College 
Claremont, California 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTBB PAGB 

I. Ancestby and Early Years 1 

II. Student Life Following the Civil War . . 17 

III. Across the Continent and Back 31 

IV. The Pastorate in Bound Brook, New 

Jersey 46 

V. A Trlaj^gular Voyage Under Sail and 

Steam 57 

VI. The Door Opens for Foreign Service. . 74 

VII. A Summer op Preparation 90 

VIII. Economic Conditions in Chihuahua in 

the Year 1882 and After 97 

IX. Founding a New Mission 116 

X. A Touring Evangelist 134 

XI. Gathering a Church at the State 

Capital 153 

XII. Promoting Education 162 

XIII. A Book Business and Related Activities 176 

XIV. An Era of Church Building 184 

XV. Ministering to Resident Foreigners 198 

XVI. Batopilas and Governor Alexander R. 

Shepherd 214 

XVII. Notable Visitors to Chihuahua 229 

XVIII. Interdenominational Assemblies 240 

XIX. Political Upheavals 252 

XX. Some Journeys and Family Reunions 269 

XXI. In the Home Land Again 286 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

James Demarest Eaton Frontispiece 

PACING PAGE 

Church Edifice in Bound Brook 46 

Governor Don Miguel Ahumada 101 

First Fruits of the New Mission 133 

Church Edifice and Home in Chihuahua 184 

Tarahumare Indians 216 

Church Edifice in Portland, Dedicated in 1895 269 

Mrs. Gertrude Pratt Eaton 286 



LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 



CHAPTER I 

ANCESTBY AND EABLY YEAES 

My father, Samuel W, Eaton, was bom in 
Framingham, Massachusetts, December 25, 1820, — 
'^a Christmas present to his parents'^ we chil- 
dren used to say. His father was Eben Eaton 
who was born September 9, 1789, and lived to the 
age of nearly ninety-four years. He served as 
deacon of Plymouth Congregational Church for 
almost half a century, officiating regularly on the 
Lord's Day to within four weeks of his death. 
One of his sisters became the wife of the Eeverend 
Joseph Emerson who was a pioneer in promoting 
the higher education of women. Another edited 
**The Friend of Virtue '' a Boston periodical 
which enlisted the cooperation of many in rescue 
work for the tempted and fallen. 

The father of Eben was Ebenezer Eaton, who 
fought at Bunker Hill and helped to carry General 
Warren off the field when the latter fell mortally 
wounded. His grave is in the old cemetery at 



2 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Framingliam, and has been marked by the Sons of 
the American Eevolution with their iron emblem. 
The father of Ebenezer was Benjamin Eaton, who 
served in the French and Indian War, and who 
with his son enlisted in Captain EdgelPs Company 
of Minute Men who marched, on the alarm given 
April 19, 1775, to Concord and Cambridge. All 
three men passed their lives on a farm which lay 
partly in Framingham township and partly in 
Sudbury. They were descended probably from 
Jonas Eaton and his wife Grace who settled in 
Eeading, Massachusetts, not later than the year 
1640. 

My father ^s mother was Sally Chadwick Spoff- 
ord, born in Eowley, Massachusetts ; a descendant 
of John Spofford whose name appears on the rec- 
ord of the first division of lands into homestead 
lots in that town in 1643. In the spring of 1669 
he removed to ^^ Spofford 's Hill" in the western 
part of the township, and was without doubt the 
first settler in Georgetown, and the progenitor of 
all of the name in the United States and Canada. 
The ancestors of John Spofford in Yorkshire, 
England, can be traced back for centuries ; indeed 
with a good degree of certainty to the time of 
William the Conqueror, and to William of Spoff- 
orth who had in 1066, the year of the Conquest, 
among other possessions ^*four acres of meadow 
and wood-pasture one mile long and one broad, ^' 
but whose estates were confiscated and appor- 
tioned among the Norman adventurers. 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 3 

My father graduated from Yale College in 1842, 
counting among Ms most intimate friends in the 
same class the eminent professor of Greek, James 
Hadley, and the professor of chemistry, John A. 
Porter, whose brilliant career as a scientist was 
cut short by his comparatively early death. In 
his library was a set of Shakespeare's works in 
seven large volumes, on the fly leaf of one of which 
was the autograph ^^J. Day,'' the college presi- 
dent in his time, indicating that the books were 
given in recognition of the recipient's high stand- 
ing as a scholar. My brother Edward at the early 
age of ten years was already becoming acquainted 
with the writings of the world's greatest drama- 
tist by poring over the pages of that edition, 
curled up on the floor of the minister's tiny study 
upstairs. 

The young graduate went to Union Theological 
Seminary for a year, but returned to New Haven 
to study theology under Dr. Nathanael W. Taylor, 
and after graduation there went to Andover Sem- 
inary for a fourth year. Then he set his face 
westward, resolved to devote his life to the task 
of helping to establish Christian institutions in 
the vast region of the Mississippi valley to which 
the early settlers were flocking. Chicago, which 
was then a raw, frontier city of but a few thousand 
people, was the stopping-place over one Sunday. 
Thence he journeyed by stage-coach across north- 
ern Illinois to Galena, and into Wisconsin Terri- 
tory to Lancaster, the county seat of Grant 



4 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

County, where lie took charge of an infant church 
then worshiping in a log school house. 

The following spring he returned to the East 
to claim Miss Catherine E. Demarest as his beauti- 
ful bride, to be for fifty-six years his angel on 
lifers pathway. She was born on Spring Street 
in New York when her father, Eeverend James 
Demarest, M.D. was pastor of a Dutch Eef ormed 
church. My mother was a descendant of the 
French Huguenots who soon after the revocation 
by Louis XIV, in 1685, of the Edict of Nantes, 
took refuge in foreign countries to the number of 
at least 500,000, her ancestors escaping to Holland. 
Hence, while her own family name was French, 
and she possessed much of the mental alertness 
and charming vivacity of her Latin lineage, she 
counted among her relatives many who bore Dutch 
names. Her mother indeed was a Schoonmaker. 

The newly wedded pair voyaged around the 
great lakes from Buffalo to Milwaukee, and from 
there traveled by horse-drawn vehicles across the 
width of Wisconsin Territory, the first stage of the 
journey being a long, weary drive of two days 
and the intervening night without a chance to rest. 
But they passed the three following nights suc- 
cessively in Janesville, Madison and Mineral 
Point, and at last were welcomed by the people 
with whom they were to be united in Christian 
service through forty eventful years. 

My birthday occurred on the 18th of March, 
1848, the year in which the Territory was admitted 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 5 

to the Union of States. Those were the days when 
** prairie schooners ^^ were a common sight to my 
childish eyes ; when my parents occasionally took 
me with them to make calls on families living in 
log cabins a few miles ont of town; when the 
<< Virginia rail fence '^ was ordinarily used to 
make an enclosure, although the prairies were yet 
unf enced and in season were covered with beauti- 
ful flowers among the grass as with a many-hued 
carpet; when at times the heavens were almost 
darkened with enormous flocks of migrating pi- 
geons which as they flew over our heads were killed 
in large numbers by men and boys with their shot- 
guns; when venison and bear meat could be had 
for our table ; when in the winter our father would 
get a hind quarter of beef at a time, cut it up into 
pieces of suitable size for the table, ^^corn^' some 
of them in brine and pack others in snow, to be 
dug out at intervals for feeding his four hungry 
boys ; when rain water was stored in cisterns, be- 
fore wells could be driven through the strata of 
limestone which underlay the land; when soft 
soap for household use was made by boiling grease 
in lye from wood ashes, in huge iron kettles over 
an outdoor fire; and when thrifty housewives 
manufactured their own candles, so that even 
after kerosene oil lamps came into use our hon- 
ored father was wont to announce from the pulpit 
that the midweek prayer-meeting would be held 
^^at early candle-light.^' 
During three years of my life, 1856 to 1859, on 



6 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the farm in Framingham, where the old home- 
stead was four miles from ^^The Center,'^ there 
was no school available ; but I did a little studying 
under the direction of my aunt Eebecca Eaton, 
who was a pupil of Mary Lyon at Mount Holyoke, 
especially beginning Latin. Many years later this 
was found to facilitate the acquisition of the 
Spanish language. 

The presidential campaign of 1856, and the can- 
didacy of General Fremont as the first Eepublican 
standard bearer, is recalled through the deep im- 
pression made upon my mind by the sight of a 
long strip of white cotton cloth stretched high 
above the street from side to side under the elms, 
and bearing the slogan in huge letters, '^Fremont 
and Freedom.'^ Another event which stirred my 
youthful imagination was the ^^ muster'' of seven 
thousand militiamen at Concord, when Nathanael 
P. Banks was Governor of the State, and General 
John E. Wool, who had distinguished himself in 
the war with Mexico, rode ^^ Green Mountain 
Morgan'' alongside the chief magistrate of the 
commonwealth. Although the famous steed had 
attained the venerable age of thirty-seven years, 
his spirit was stirred again at the sound of martial 
music and the sight of the marching men and the 
prancing horses; and he seemed to renew his 
youth, capering with the rest, to the admiration of 
us all. That was only eight or nine years after 
the United States had taken from Mexico (though 
salving her conscience by the payment of fifteen 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 7 

million dollars to a helpless neighbor), the vast 
territory which now comprises Colorado, New 
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, to say 
nothing of Texas which, some years before 
through the instigation of American settlers, had 
been led to declare her independence of the south- 
ern republic. It is distinctly remembered that my 
grandfather, conversing with neighbors in my 
hearing, condemned that war with Mexico as un- 
justifiable on our part. 

Various were the religious influences which 
shaped my character in those tender years: in 
part, the faithful instruction given by our grand- 
mother who fascinated us with her narrations of 
Bible incidents, so that we children were always 
begging her to tell us one more story, and who 
tried without much success to teach us the answers 
to questions in the ^^ shorter catechism''; in part, 
the daily family worship conducted by grand- 
father before he went forth to his engrossing 
work on the farm, reading the Bible himself and 
then standing up to pray ; and in part, the attend- 
ance at public worship on Sunday morning and 
afternoon, with the Bible school at noon. After 
this study there was a refreshing interval for us 
and for the many other families who had come 
long distances to church, to eat our lunches out 
of doors when the weather was not too cold for 
comfort there. How we did enjoy that religious 
picnic, since the Puritan custom frowned even 
upon a quiet walk in the woods or fields on the 



8 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Sabbath, and could approve only a journey on 
foot or by carriage which might be necessary in 
order to reach the house of God. In the Sunday- 
school a gentleman once offered a handsomely 
bound copy of the Bible to every boy and girl who 
should commit to memory a certain number of 
hundreds of verses of Scripture within a specified 
time. This led to the storing of many chapters 
in my mind, and the forming of a habit which in 
after years not only helped in the preparation for 
conducting religious services in my pastorates, but 
also facilitated the committing to memory of 
passages from the Spanish Bible as an aid to gos- 
pel work in Mexico. 

With the return of the family to Wisconsin in 
the autumn of 1859 I was enrolled a pupil at the 
Lancaster Institute under the principalship of 
Sherman Page, who was a strict disciplinarian, a 
thorough teacher and an effective elocutionist. 
He was succeeded by Eobert A. Donaldson, gradu- 
ated at Middlebury College and an accurate 
scholar who insisted upon our memorizing all the 
rules and exceptions in Andrews and Stoddard's 
Latin Grammar. Later he went to San Francisco 
and became connected with the Southern Pacific 
Eailroad, occupying for many years a position of 
large responsibility. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, there was 
manifested an intense devotion to the Union on 
the part of the citizens of our town, and many 
of my older schoolmates enlisted in the army. 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 9 

One of them, Thomas Cox, was in the opening 
battle of Bull Run, and the first man from our town 
to be killed; and the crying of the ^ ^ extra '^ upon 
the streets made a tremendous impression upon 
the tender sensibilities of a boy only thirteen 
years of age. Another who heeded his country's 
call by a truly religious consecration of himself, 
ready to die for her, passed with grave counte- 
nance through the school-room, from desk to desk, 
giving a goodbye kiss to each of the older girls; 
and I looked on the unwonted spectacle with a 
feeling of awe, akin to that experienced when- 
ever I saw my mother partake with deep feeling 
of the Lord's Supper. 

When the men composing Company C of the 
Seventh Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers were 
about to leave for camp, they were drawn up on 
the green in front of the court-house to receive 
from the women a banner which bore the legend 
*'From the Lead Mines of Old Granf My 
mother had been chosen to make the presentation, 
supported by a group of ladies, and while she 
was reading the address that deeply moved all 
her hearers, the captain, John B. Callis, with 
sword drawn, was slowly pacing back and forth 
in front of the ranks, meditating the form of his 
courteous and patriotic response. He rose to be 
colonel and brigadier general, and after the war 
became a member of the Congress at Washington. 

The following year came a letter from him 
stating that the men of the Seventh Wisconsin 



10 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

had chosen my father to be their chaplain and 
had petitioned the Governor of the State to com- 
mission him for that service, and begging him to 
accept the appointment. The appeal and the 
commission were laid before the members of the 
church, who agreed with their pastor in feeling 
that the call ought to be accepted, and voted to 
spare him for a few months. He reached the army 
of the Potomac at the time of the second battle 
of Bull Eun, and at once gave himself with all 
his soul to the care of the soldiers ; preaching in 
camp; making journeys to Washington before 
battles with the soldiers ' money in cash upon his 
person or in a hand bag, — as high as $10,000 at 
a time, — that it might not be lost if they fell; 
ministering on the battle-j&eld, under the enemy's 
fire, to the wounded and the dying. For a part 
of the time he was the only chaplain in the Iron 
Brigade ; and he could not leave his soldiers until 
the close of the war in 1865. 

After each battle our father wrote to mother 
in detail concerning the casualties among the men 
from our township; and it often fell to me to 
harness the horse to the buggy and drive mother 
to the home of some soldier, far out in the country 
perhaps, in order that she might read there the 
letter which was of such intense interest to the 
family. The newspapers of Chicago were filled 
with long lists of the killed, the wounded and 
the missing, and many errors occurred. Conse- 
quently if the name of the loved one had been 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 11 

given, the family waited for accurate tidings from 
the chaplain before feeling sure as to the truth. 
Even though the name might not have appeared 
in any one of the lists, yet the friends would not 
be able, after a bloody battle, to do more than 
^^ rejoice with trembling'' until there should come 
confirmation of the belief that the dear husband 
or brother or son was safe. After the three days 
of fighting at Gettysburg, during which conflict 
the chaplain wrote home at the close of every day, 
sometimes utilizing a drumhead for a writing- 
desk, he reported Colonel Callis wounded, and 
that only three men of Company C were fit for 
duty. The ^^Iron Brigade," (composed of the 
Second, the Sixth and the Seventh Wisconsin 
Regiments and the Nineteenth Indiana and, for 
a part of the time, the Twenty-fourth Michigan), 
had won such renown that it was often placed in 
very dangerous positions, and it correspondingly 
suffered. 

The chaplain was on the field at Appomattox 
Court House immediately after the surrender of 
General Lee, and secured pieces of the apple tree 
under which the Commander of the Army of 
Northern Virginia was seated when General Grant 
met him for the purpose of arranging the terms 
of capitulation, which were signed in the farm- 
house near. These details were given by General 
Grant himself to the chaplain in Galena, Illinois, 
at the house of the former's friend, Mr. Felt, 



12 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

where my father had the honor of making a call 
on the General and Mrs. Grant. 

The limits of this narrative will not permit me 
to follow the fortunes of my brothers, except to 
record in briefest outline the careers of the three. 
Edward Dwight graduated at Beloit College and 
Yale Theological Seminary; held two pastorates 
in ten years; was president of Beloit for more 
than thirty years; for a time during the World 
War represented our denomination at Washing- 
ton, D. C, and in the same city served a new 
church as its first pastor; for a long time has 
been connected with the American Board, first as 
its vice-president, then on the prudential com- 
mittee, and going on deputations to foreign fields ; 
and is still active as a sort of pastor at large. 
Samuel Lewis graduated at Yale, where he took 
the first prize at the Junior Exhibition, was 
elected to a senior society which is the most 
famous one in that university, was one of the six 
winners of the Townsend prizes for ^^the best 
specimen of English composition '^ who spoke in 
competition for the De Forest gold medal, and 
was one of the speakers on the commencement 
program. He entered the medical profession, and 
for many years has been established in Newton 
Highlands, Massachusetts, where he has a private 
sanatorium in addition to his general practice. 
Charles WoodhuU also became a physician and 
surgeon spending most of his active life at the 
capital of Iowa, where he was medical director of 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 13 

the Des Moines Life Insurance Company at the 
time of his death in 1908. The memorial service 
in Plymouth Church was noteworthy, for the large 
attendance of men including the medical frater- 
nity who furnished from their number the hon- 
orary pall-bearers, for the beauty and appropri- 
ateness of the selections from Scripture and of 
the music by organ and quartette, and for the 
able and appreciative analysis of our brother's 
character and work and the tribute of love and 
admiration which were given by the pastor and 
the pastor emeritus respectively. After it was all 
over, Edward seated himself in Charlie's chair 
at the office and told us all the beautiful story of 
that day in a letter from which it may be per- 
mitted to quote a few lines: ^^How many whom 
he has buoyed up in sickness and despondency 
are dreading the experience of life without him; 
strong men pay their homage to his greatness, 
and women and children mourn in him the ten- 
derest, most sympathetic of friends • ... It is an 
irreparable loss to you all, that you could not 
share the sorrowful privilege of feeling the depth 
of affection shown by so many for our brother, 
and the manifold evidences of the power of his 
life and influence in this community and far 
beyond it ... . Are we not proud and thankful 
that he was given to us and to so many others! 
and we think he would say to us now with his 
brightest smile, ^ Say not good night, but in some 
brighter clime bid me good morning.' " 



14 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

During the war the Lancaster Institute again 
experienced a change of administration, the new 
principal being John J. Copp of Groton, Connecti- 
cut, a graduate of Amherst College. He was a 
most wholesome kind of man of high ideals and 
an inspiring teacher, and valued the possession 
of a sound body, keeping his own in good con- 
dition by taking walks of from six to ten miles 
daily. Under his lead our class read the entire 
twelve books of Virgil's -^neid, presenting each 
day for ^^the review'' a careful translation of 
the preceding lesson, which was written in a large 
blank book, so that in the end each one of us was 
possessor of a volume that contained an English 
version of the famous classic. Occasionally the 
study of the lesson would be halted for a few 
minutes while our teacher would repeat from 
memory, and in an elevated and sympathetic tone 
of voice, some significant lines from Milton's 
Paradise Lost. 

One day in the spring of 1865 he told us that 
we were prepared to enter Amherst. My own 
thought had been not to go to college, lest that 
step might lead to my becoming a minister of the 
gospel. It seemed to me preferable to avoid the 
solemn responsibilities and the material sacrifices 
involved in that calling to which my parents had 
given themselves with such absolute devotion. I 
would go into business, perhaps becoming a book- 
seller or even a publisher ; and if by this means 
a competence were secured, my parents would 



ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 15 

have many comforts to lighten the burden of 
declining years, and generous gifts would be made 
for the support of the Church, whose divine 
mission it never occurred to me to question for 
one moment. This had been my youthful dream. 
But the next few months were to bring a change 
in the outlook. After the ^^ Grand Review'^ of 
the federal armies marching through Washington 
for three days, (when my father rode his horse 
among the other officers of his regiment, accom- 
panied by Edward as his orderly, the latter 
having been for a short time an agent of the 
United States Christian Commission, probably 
the youngest in the service), it was not long 
before the million and a quarter of men were 
mustered out of service and allowed to return to 
their families and peaceful occupations. The 
chaplain delayed his home-coming only a few 
days to enable him to attend the National Con- 
gregational Council at Boston, and accompany 
the delegates to Plymouth where they adopted 
the Burial Hill Declaration of Faith. Following 
closely his return to us came a letter from the 
colonel of his regiment, who wrote to the chaplain : 
^^I should not feel my duty as a soldier ended did 
I not acknowledge your services while connected 
with the army. . . . Your example and influence 
have been to me of untold worth in the discipline 
of the command. While I feel my inability to 
express in befitting words the extent of the moral 
value of your Christian example and service, I 



16 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

am totally lost for language when I refer to your 
services in the trying hour of battle as you stood 
among the dead and dying. . . . Heaven, who 
alone knows the full worth of your labors, reward 
you.^' 

My father in his quiet, thoughtful way led me to 
realize more fully the advantages of a college 
education, although at that time he said nothing 
about entering the Christian ministry. He had 
given up the comparatively comfortable income 
of the chaplaincy, and returned to the meager 
salary of former days, and therefore could not 
propose my going to his alma mater, nor even to 
Amherst; but he did offer to help me to the ex- 
tent of his ability, if I would enter the young 
college whose founding by wise men from the east, 
shortly after he himself had joined the ranks of 
the pioneers, had roused his deepest interest and 
hearty cooperation. This was evidently a provi- 
dential opening, and the parental counsel pre- 
vailed, backed as it was by family traditions on 
both sides of the house. Early in September I 
started for the school which was only two hundred 
miles distant, ^^ working my passage'' by helping 
a friend to drive his herd of cattle twenty-five 
miles to the nearest railroad station, load them 
on the cars at two o'clock in the morning, and 
then travel on the freight train headed for the 
Chicago stockyards, on a pass for ^* drover and 
assistant.'' 



CHAPTER II 

STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR 

The halls of Beloit College, which had been 
almost deserted for four years, because of the 
enlistment of so many of its students to fight for 
union and freedom, filled up with men returning 
to finish their studies in company with those who 
were too young to serve in the army. 

In our freshman class were nine who had worn 
the blue uniform, including two former captains. 
One of the seniors was Colonel J. D. Davis who 
became the famous missionary to Japan. Others 
from the army were Arthur H. Smith and Henry 
D. Porter who went to China. A large percentage 
of every class, in the academy as well as in the 
college, were expecting to become ministers, and 
many of these afterward enlisted as Christ ^s 
soldiers for campaigns in foreign fields. Men of 
that stamp were so numerous that there was main- 
tained a daily prayer-meeting at noon, each class 
had its weekly religious meeting after one of the 
recitations, and there was an evening gathering 
in the middle of the week designed for the entire 
student body. The class rooms were filled largely 
with grown men, not immature boys; and there 

17 



18 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

prevailed a feeling of responsibility to make the 
most of one's self in those days of opportunities 
for culture, and to decide in what way one might 
become most useful to humanity. 

The outstanding men of the faculty, besides 
President Aaron L. Chapin, were Joseph Emerson 
in Greek, William Porter for Latin, Jackson J. 
Bushnell in Mathematics, and James J. Blaisdell 
in Mental and Moral Philosophy. Very few were 
the tutors; and so the students came into daily 
personal contact with those rare teachers who 
molded character while they opened the paths to 
knowledge. Early in its history Beloit began to 
furnish professors to Yale, and presidents and 
instructors for various colleges. 

There was another advantage enjoyed at the 
small college as compared with a large eastern 
institution; a larger proportion of the students 
were entrusted with official responsibility and 
were summoned to participate in college functions 
of various kinds. One of the many pleasant ex- 
periences of my life here was the editorship of 
the college monthly magazine which had then 
maintained a continuous existence for a longer 
period than any other publication of its class, 
excepting the Yale Literary Magazine. The week 
before graduation was spent by me in accom- 
panying the editors of the newspapers of Wiscon- 
sin on an excursion which included steamboat 
travel on lake and river, receptions and banquets, 
entertainment by night at comfortable hotels, a 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 19 

convention with flow of oratory, and free trans- 
portation by railroad. Another agreeable recol- 
lection is that of the triumphant career of the 
baseball team, ^^The Olympians," organized by 
our class in the freshman year in the spring of 
] 866, but taken up with great enthusiasm by other 
men in the college and the preparatory depart- 
ment. They defeated crack teams from Madison, 
Janesville, Whitewater, Milwaukee, Chicago and 
other towns, gained the championship in their 
own state and, through the reports in the public 
press of their achievements, attracted attention 
to the college. 

In those years the lyceum courses of lectures 
were in full swing, bringing to us famous men 
like Wendell Phillips, John B. Gough, Frederick 
Douglass, George W. Curtis, Theodore Tilton 
and Horace Greeley, besides others who without 
compensation addressed public assemblages, such 
as Generals William T. Sherman and Benjamin 
F. Butler, and clergymen and educators who 
spoke at chapel. 

Before the end of the freshman year my 
decision had been made to unite with the church 
at Lancaster, and my reluctance to become a 
minister of the gospel was overcome through an 
intimate conversation with my father while hg 
was taking me with his horse and buggy to the 
railroad station, which necessitated a drive of 
five or six hours. After that act of renunciation 
it became easy to hold myself in readiness to go 



20 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

to the ends of the earth, into ^^ darkest Africa/' 
or anywhere that might be providentially indi- 
cated. 

After graduating from college in 1869 I studied 
awhile at Chicago Theological Seminary, where 
Professors Bartlett, Haven and Fisk were the Big 
Three. As an outside responsibility there was 
given me a class of boys in the large Tabernacle 
Sunday-school whose superintendent was that 
splendid Christian leader, Major D. W. Whittle. 
iDwight L. Moody was just coming into promi- 
nence at the meetings in Farwell Hall ; and many 
of the city pulpits were filled by able men whose 
discourses supplied additional training of great 
value for both mind and heart. 

But in the early spring an invitation was ac- 
cepted to teach a public school on a large cotton 
plantation near Lake Village, Arkansas, at a good 
salary and for a term of only three months. The 
long voyage by steamboat from Saint Louis to 
Vicksburg enabled me to make the acquaintance 
of many southerners and to gain insight into life 
on both sides of the great river. An afternoon in 
Memphis furnished two contrasting spectacles; 
one, the succession on a fashionable street, of 
carriages drawn at a rapid pace by blooded 
horses and filled with beautiful southern women 
accompanied by handsome men, and the other, a 
procession of colored people celebrating the ratifi- 
cation of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Consti- 
tution. In the first wagon was a brass band, and 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 21 

in the second a company of girls dressed in white, 
representing all the States of the Union, while on 
a throne elevated above them sat a plump Negress 
also arrayed in white raiment, with white kid 
slippers on her feet and a crown of glittering 
tinsel on her head, representing the Goddess of 
Liberty. When they reached their destination 
and the goddess prepared to descend to earth, 
dozens of dusky arms were outstretched eagerly 
to receive her. Along the way rode Negro 
marshals in uniform, mounted on mettlesome 
steeds and looking as important as if they might 
have returned recently from commanding the 
Army of the Potomac. 

We had glimpses of spots made famous during 
the Civil War, such as Fort Pillow, Milliken's 
Bend, Island No. 10 and above all Vicksburg, 
where was spent a part of two days waiting for a 
boat. Countless were the caves dug in the sides 
of the gulches to provide shelter for the families 
from the cannonading by our troops, and in them 
were still to be seen evidences of former occu- 
pation. In one of the old redoubts had been 
mounted the cannon ^^ Whistling Dick,^' which did 
considerable execution among the Federal gun- 
boats; and leading down from it to the bank of 
the river was seen the deep trench for sheltering 
the Confederates when they went to draw water. 
In another earthwork were found two heavy 
siege guns, ten to twelve feet in length and made 
to discharge a twelve inch projectile, which were 



22 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

half buried in the earth where they had lain for 
six or seven years. The cemetery on the north 
side of the city contained the graves of 40,000 
Confederate soldiers, a portion of them having 
been brought from Helena in Arkansas. The city 
was still garrisoned with United States soldiers. 

In Chicot County, Arkansas, at that time there 
were about ten times as many colored people as 
whites; and a considerable percentage of the 
latter before the war had belonged to the rough 
element, so that it was the custom of men on the 
highway, as well as on the lonely roads and trails, 
to carry arms. The government in power was of 
the *^ carpet bag'' variety of course; but the white 
oflficials with whom I had dealings appeared to be 
men not only of intelligence but of integrity, and 
sincerely desirous of promoting the public wel- 
fare. The prosecuting attorney of the county was 
a scholar and a gentleman of high ideals, and 
the judge was of a kindred spirit. He and his 
wife conducted a Sunday-school for whites, and 
their home was for me a delightful retreat. 

The school trustee who signed a contract with 
me as teacher at the Yellow Bayou plantation was 
the son of a wealthy planter, while his mother 
was a slave. He had been educated in France 
and could speak several languages. He held also 
the offices of justice of the peace, postmaster and 
state senator, and had lately had his nomination 
as minister to Liberia confirmed by the Senate 
of the United States. 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 23 

The owner of Yellow Bayou had other prop- 
erty in Louisville, Kentucky, and in Philadelphia 
where he made his home during the war. His 
wife was a Derringer, daughter of the inventor of 
the pistol of that name, and she had in her pos- 
session a dozen or more braces of the weapon for 
making gifts to friends. She was a cousin of the 
wife of Abraham Lincoln. Their mansion had 
been burned during the war, and later the very 
site of it was washed away by the Mississippi 
river; so that the family had to take up their 
abode in the dwelling of the old-time overseer. 
After a few weeks they all started for their 
summer sojourn at the north, leaving the new 
overseer and the schoolmaster sole occupants of 
the house, the only whites among hundreds of 
colored folks ; and one of the two was burned by 
the sun to so dark a hue, that the pedagogue 
scarcely realized the presence of even one white 
person on that area of 8,000 acres, except when 
he caught a glimpse of his own face in the 
mirror. 

The teaching was of a simple character, en- 
livened by the use of blackboard, charts and globe 
brought from Chicago; and the children, (for all 
old enough to labor were in the cotton field), 
made good progress, advancing from their a b c^s 
through the first reader. So great was the de- 
mand from the field hands for similar advantages, 
that a night school was opened, for a very mod- 
erate fee which they gladly paid. The teacher 



24 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

was called upon to help adults in their accounts 
and other business matters, and even to write 
love letters for ardent swains. In one such case 
the amanuensis had finished a glowing epistle to 
*^ Dearest Lucinda/' and it had been subscribed 
^^Your true and faithful lover, Tolliver Bowie''; 
and the writer had made a copy of it, when the 
young man's feelings overcame him, and he 
isuddenly burst forth in an imaginative strain 
uttering the following sentences which were taken 
down verbatim from his lips and added as a 
postscript : ^ ^ I have rode the broad ocean of water 
and run the risk of my life. I have traveled over 
mountains day after day, and have not found a 
lady among ten thousand that lies so upon my 
whole heart as you. I ask that you will please tell 
me whether you will have me, and not to tell me 
No; for it seems like a burden lying upon my 
whole heart, from one day's end to another. I 
feel like a sheep that has wandered from its gang 
and has lost its way and is blatting. I am like 
a dove that has lost its mate and is calling for it 
and cannot find it. I hope it will soon come to 
its home and give me peace." He would have 
gone on like this for the space of several sheets, 
if his fancy had been allowed full play; but the 
hour was getting late, and the brake was applied. 
On Sundays from nine to ten o'clock I had a 
Bible school more largely attended than the other ; 
and I had opportunity to observe the colored folks 
in their religious meetings under the lead of igno- 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 25 

rant but fervid preachers who were encouraged by 
their hearers to rise to loftier flights of eloquence 
by such ejaculations as ^^Yes, brother," ^^Yes, 
honey," ^^Yes, yes," ^^ That's so, brother," (with 
nodding of the head), and ^^My God! ain't that 
true!" Many would break out into singing by 
themselves or loud screaming while the preacher 
was holding forth ; and often the din was deafen- 
ing. On one occasion a young woman was so 
^^ moved" that she jumped up and down and threw 
her arms and legs about in an alarming manner. 
Several of the neighboring worshipers received 
from her brawny hands a resounding whack in 
the face; and some dodged her during prayer, 
when she began to heave and groan and sway her 
body. While she was going through these motions, 
an attentive young man performed the pleasing 
task of supporting her by the waist from behind. 
Although many of their sayings and doings were 
painfully ludicrous, others awakened profound 
sympathy, by reason of the pathetic reminders 
thus given of the old times of suffering in slavery, 
and real respect for their simple faith in Jesus 
and their sincere reverence for things unseen and 
eternal. 

In September I entered Andover Theological 
Seminary, taking the studies of the middle year 
under Professor Edwards A. Park, who had re- 
turned refreshed by a year in Europe, and was 
greeted by an enthusiastic class of about sixty 
men including the seniors who had awaited his 



26 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

coming to get the course of lectures on systematic 
theology. The room was full, and often the keen 
sallies of the lecturer or his witty rejoinders to 
some student's question or remark called forth 
hearty laughter or loud applause by the entire 
assembly. Such worldly sounds proceeding from 
a body of theological students might have scan- 
dalized some outsiders, if the building had been 
within easy range of their hearing; but that and 
the companion halls rose in quiet stateliness far 
back from the street, behind a wide lawn and ave- 
nues of elms and horse-chestnuts. 

Courses in the Hebrew and the Greek Scrip- 
tures were given us by Charles M. Mead and J. 
Henry Thayer. In the senior year it was Austin 
Phelps and Egbert C. Smyth ; while all along we 
had J. Wesley Churchill, the incomparable im- 
personator and the big brother, who drilled daily 
the whole body of men in vocal gymnastics, and 
with discernment but in a kindly manner criticised 
the seniors in their delivery of sermons. 

Many were the notables brought to address 
either the students alone or assemblies that in- 
cluded the townspeople, such as Edward Everett 
Hale, Andrew P. Peabody, Ealph Waldo Emerson, 
Wendell Phillips, General Armstrong, A. J. Gor- 
don and Joseph Cook. Boston was a mine of 
similar riches, with E. R. Meredith crowding 
Tremont Temple every Saturday noon with 
teachers and preachers to hear his exposition 
of the Sunday-school lesson; Christine Nilsson 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 27 

singing in the oratorio of the ^ ^Messiah'' and in 
the opera of ^^ Faust,'' and Parepa Eosa still 
charming with her voice the lovers of music; 
Edwin Booth playing in '^Hamlet" and Edwin 
Forrest in ^'King Lear ;" Major J. W. Powell tell- 
ing for the first time in public the thrilling story 
of his perilous voyage of exploration through the 
Grand Canyon of Arizona; while Harvard Uni- 
versity admitted me as a visitor to lectures by 
James Eussell Lowell and Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
Dr. E. B. Webb was preaching at the Shawmut 
Church, Edward N. Eark at Mount Vernon on 
Beacon Hill, J. M. Manning at the Old South on 
the corner of Milk Street, '^Adirondack" Murray 
at Park Street, and Phillips Brooks at the old 
stone church on Winter Street. 

In June of 1872 was held the second Peace Ju- 
bilee in the huge coliseum built for the purpose, 
when P. S. Gilmore brought from different coun- 
tries of Europe their famous bands of music, each 
one comprising not less than fifty instruments. 
Johann Strauss conducted one of the companies, 
and he was so extremely active in his bodily move- 
ments as to cause the swallowtails of his coat to 
fly about almost like the wings of the bird from 
which they derive their name ! There was a chorus 
of many thousands of singers, the hundreds of 
component parts of which had been drilled in ad- 
vance by men who instructed them in halls, 
churches and schools throughout Greater Boston. 
One of those leaders came regularly to train us 



28 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

theological students, and so it happened that a seat 
in the immense chorus was assigned to me. 

The senior year brought me many opportunities 
for the supply of pulpits ; but there was no thought 
of accepting a pastorate in dear New England; 
for my face was set toward mission work, either 
in the newer regions of my own country after my 
father ^s example, or in foreign lands which seemed 
to make a stronger appeal to such as were free to 
leave their kindred. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Gulick 
of North China urged upon me the claims of that 
wide field, and as the result of repeated interviews 
they felt pretty sure of my intention to join them 
after having carried out the cherished plan of tak- 
ing a year for further study at Yale. But about 
the same time Dr. George H. Atkinson of Portland, 
Oregon, addressed the student body and presented 
the claims of the new Northwest, he having re- 
cently resigned his pastorate of fifteen years with 
the First Church to become general missionary for 
Oregon and Washington. He told the fascinating 
story of Marcus Whitman's winter ride across 
the Eocky Mountains to plead with the govern- 
ment at Washington not to allow that territory 
to become the possession of Great Britain, and 
how that intrepid missionary of the American 
Board took back with him a caravan of families 
to prove his assertion that fellow-countrymen 
could settle in that region, and would do so if they 
received encouragement. In a private interview 
he solicited my cooperation with himself in the en- 



STUDENT LIFE FOLLOWING CIVIL WAR 29 

deavor to lay broad and deep foundations for 
Christian institutions in that domain of rich re- 
sources. 

The month of September found me in New 
Haven, domiciled in the new Divinity Hall as chum 
with my brother Edward who had graduated from 
Beloit as valedictorian of his class and was be- 
ginning his theological course. How we did enjoy 
life under the elms at the ancient seat of learn- 
ing, sitting at the feet of such teachers as George 
P. Fisher, Timothy Dwight and William D. Whit- 
ney! The pulpit of Battell Chapel was occupied 
by able preachers ; and that valiant leader of Con- 
gregationalism, Leonard Bacon, was still to be 
seen on the platform at Center Church of which 
he had become pastor emeritus. It was thrilling 
to feel the contact of the pervading spirit of a 
large body of students, to move in an encompass- 
ing atmosphere of noble traditions of scholarship 
and chivalrous service of others, to gaze upon the 
old red brick walls which had sheltered our father 
and his associates and the successive generations 
of men before his time going back almost two hun- 
dred years, and to ramble eastward, northward or 
westward, visiting the fields, the woodlands, the 
high rocks or the shore of the Sound, which their 
feet had trod. 

But in November came a great surprise in the 
form of a call from the First Congregational 
Church of Portland, Oregon, to become its pastor 
for one year. That seemed to open a door for both 



30 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

home and foreign missionary work ; for while the 
congregation was at that time the largest of our 
fellowship north of San Francisco, and well past 
the need of pecuniary help, it was located at the 
strategic center of a wide area dotted with settle- 
ments that were already making loud appeal for 
the formative moral and religious influences which 
the Church alone could furnish ; and the numerous 
Chinese residents in the city made their special 
claim upon my sympathies. Then, too, for a dozen 
years past I had been frequenting class rooms. 
Of theory there had been abundance ; now a little 
of practice might be wholesome. A year on the 
far Pacific Coast out among men — and hardy 
pioneers at that, accustomed to bring things to 
pass, if not in the conventional way — ^would en- 
rich me with a new kind of experience, reveal 
some of the things I lacked, and return me to the 
university with a more intelligent idea concerning 
the direction of study required to make good my 
deficiencies; and soon was the decision made to 
accept the call. 



CHAPTER III 

ACEOSS THE CONTII^ENT AND BACK 

On my westward way the first week in December 
found me in Washington, when the Congress was 
in session. J. Allen Barber, of Wisconsin, who 
had been chiefly instrumental in obtaining from 
New England the successive principals of the In- 
stitute, was then a member of the House of Rep- 
resentatives. When Mr. Barber escorted me to 
the Senate Chamber for the purpose of introduc- 
ing me to one of the senators from Oregon, at the 
door we almost jostled against the imposing figure 
of Charles Sumner, and within we heard Roscoe 
Conkling speaking. 

In my native town and at a special meeting 
of the Mineral Point District Convention of Con- 
gregational Churches which was held on Sunday 
evening, December 15, in the old church edifice 
which could not contain all who wished to attend 
the unwonted ceremony, occurred my ordination 
to the ministry of the gospel. The sermon by my 
father had for its text the charge of David to 
Solomon his son: ^^I go the way of all the earth; 
be thou strong therefore and show thyself a man. ' ' 
One of the local papers, in its extended account 

31 



32 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of the event, remarked : ^ ' Than this, nothing could 
have been finer or more apposite, as the discourse 
of which it was the keynote so convincingly testi- 
fied ; perhaps one of the best sermons of his life, 
as in his preaching he manifested a degree of 
earnestness and displayed a power of eloquence 
such as characterize the efforts of not every cler- 
gyman within our borders/* 

At that time there was but one railroad to the 
Pacific Coast, which had been completed three 
years before by the junction at Ogden of the Union 
Pacific and the Central Pacific tracks ; and it was 
a journey of seven days from New York to San 
Francisco. But even that was a wonderful ad- 
vance, in both time and comfort, over the stage- 
coach and the pony express of Ben HoUiday, who 
was for a while a fellow passenger on our train. 
In Utah it was bitterly cold, making it necessary to 
use the blankets from our berths as lap robes ; but 
when the high banks of snow on the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains had been passed, and our train had 
dropped down in a few hours from the summit to 
Sacramento, we found ourselves inhaling with de- 
light balmy air laden with the perfume of flowers. 
It seemed as if we must have halted in some vast 
conservatory; but there was no glass above our 
heads, only the clear air of California flooded 
with sunshine. 

To reach Portland there was a choice of routes, 
either by rail to Eedding, thence by daily stage for 
two hundred and seventy-five miles over the Sis- 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 33 

kiyou Mountains to Roseburg, ending with a ride 
of two hundred miles by rail again to the city lo- 
cated on the Willamette river ten miles above its 
junction with the Columbia, or by a small tri- 
weekly steamer. People said: ^^ Whichever way 
you choose, you'll wish you had taken the other;" 
but during the rainy winter season, when it was 
almost impossible for the ^^mud wagons" to get 
through certain bad stretches of road, so that 
the sacks of mail sometimes had to be thrown off 
in the mire, and the time lengthened out to four- 
teen days from New York, the scale tipped heavily 
toward the ocean voyage. Consequently passage 
was taken on the ^^ George W. Elder" for a voyage 
of eight hundred miles, over the Columbia River 
bar and past the historic port of Astoria, where 
the majestic stream is three miles in width, then 
up between heavily wooded banks to the city of my 
day dreams. 

Never can I forget the first impression of the 
wonderful view which is obtained from the heights 
back of the town, with the dark evergreen forest 
stretching far in every direction, while just across 
the valley to the eastward, (apparently near, 
though really fifty miles away), rises the stately 
Mount Hood robed in white. North of it looms the 
symmetrical cone of Mount Adams ; and still far- 
ther away may be discerned Ranier, distant one 
hundred and twenty miles ; while to the south are 
the peaks of Mount Jefferson and the Three Sis- 
ters ; thus outlining the Sierra Nevada range for 



34 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

more than two hundred miles. Nearer, one can fol- 
low with his gaze the courses of the two rivers, both 
above and below their confluence, by means of the 
light reflected from their gleaming water, which 
offers a striking contrast to the dark green of 
the encompassing forest. Lying at the wharves 
below are a few river steamboats, and some sail- 
ing vessels that may have come from China or the 
west coast of South America, and are to take on 
cargoes of wheat for England via Cape Horn. 

With the exception of the compact city itself, 
and a glimpse of the military barracks at Fort 
Vancouver on the northern bank of the Columbia, 
there were then no human habitations to be seen ; 
and most appropriate seemed the title given to the 
region, ^Hhe great lonely land,'' the fitness of 
which must have been felt by the poet who wrote : 
*^ Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound save 
its own dashing." 

Portland had a population of only ten thousand ; 
but its assessed property valuation of ten million 
dollars indicated its importance even at that time 
as a business center. Seattle comprised a few 
frame buildings scattered among a wilderness of 
stumps on the high shore of Puget Sound, and 
Tocoma was nowhere. But the northwestern me- 
tropolis already possessed a number of substantial 
brick blocks, a noble federal building which occu- 
pied the center of an entire square, commodious 
school houses and respectable churches. The First 
Congregational had already completed its second 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 35 

building, an attractive edifice with a basement 
story for the Sunday-school and social gatherings, 
and a graceful spire from which sounded forth 
the voice of its deep-toned bell. It summoned to 
their church home a noble band of earnest men 
and women, many of whom were true pioneers and 
had come to occupy positions of large responsi- 
bility, and were ready to give largely of their 
time and their means to Christian enterprises. 

Life in those novel surroundings was full of 
interest from the beginning. Not only in the 
church itself did it fall to me to administer the 
sacraments for the first time and receive a consid- 
erable number of new members, the larger part on 
confession of faith, and take the lead in obtaining 
an organist and new recruits for the choir, and 
within six weeks start a Chinese Sunday-school 
with a teacher for each pupil; but in the com- 
munity and in outside towns occurred events which 
called for assistance from the newcomer. Very 
soon was the entire city shocked and saddened 
by the tidings that through treachery on the part 
of the Modoc Indians in southern Oregon the be- 
loved General Canby and a well-known clergy- 
man had been killed. The body of the General was 
brought home for the burial rites, in which some 
of us shared. Two months later, during the meet- 
ing of our State Association at The Dalles, my ser- 
mon on Sunday evening was addressed to an as- 
sembly which included a small group of Warm 
Spring Indians who in company with other war- 



36 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

riors of the tribe had been fighting those same 
Modocs in the Lava Beds ; for a number of the tribe 
were Christians. The following day a lot of the 
braves who had come into town to be paid off, rode 
through the streets on their ponies, carrying sus- 
pended from poles the scalps of those they had 
slain, and whooping at intervals in a startling 
manner, at the same time firing their guns. In 
the evening they had a war dance, staged by sev- 
enty warriors and as many squaws. 

An event in the spring which moved the city 
mightily, furnishing a topic of conversation when- 
ever people met, filling columns of the newspapers, 
and dividing the citizens into two camps, of friends 
and foes, was the launching of the Women's Tem- 
perance Crusade, in sympathy with the movement 
which began in Hillsboro, Ohio, spread to other 
parts of the country, led to the organization of 
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and 
had a large share in shaping public opinion 
against the liquor saloon, until the climax of hos- 
tility to alcoholic beverages was reached in the 
adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution. 

When the movement was at its height, the 
women were accustomed to meet every morn- 
ing in one of the churches in company with 
their pastors and other women and some lay- 
men, for prayer and conference and mutual 
encouragement in the difficult task; then they 
marched forth two by two, fifty or sixty of 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 37 

them, to lay siege to some saloon, singing 
and praying on the sidewalk and expostula- 
ting with the barkeeper for being in so shameful 
a business as that of coining money out of the de- 
gradation of his fellowmen and the poverty and 
suffering of innocent wives and children. Becom- 
ing proficient in the methods of their warfare they 
took lunches along and carried campstools on their 
arms, so as to be able to continue for an indefinite 
time in any given place. Now and then they would 
march back to the church to report progress to the 
praying group there, narrating experiences that 
tended either to discourage or to cheer, and then 
start out again to renew their holy crusade, with 
renewed faith and courage to face the foe. The 
climax was reached when they visited the saloon 
of a man whose wife was a member of our church, 
and where they stayed for more than four hours, 
until the sun went down. Whistles were blown, 
gongs beaten, a barrel organ played, water thrown 
with the hose on the crusaders, and several fights 
occurred among men who, drawing pistols and 
knives, took sides either for or against the women. 
The following morning at nine o'clock the cru- 
saders came again, but the proprietor kept quiet. 
A little before noon they were arrested by police 
officers, and their trial was fixed for the next 
morning, which was Saturday. The case was ad- 
journed till Monday. After listening to the testi- 
mony, and pleas by several attorneys on each side, 
the jury rendered a verdict of ^^ guilty of dis- 



38 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

orderly conduct," and each woman was sentenced 
to pay a fine of $1 and costs, or go to jail for one 
day. Of course they chose the latter alternative; 
but they did not continue their militant methods, 
feeling that they had already made a deep impres- 
sion for good upon the minds of thinking men and 
women, and being convinced that by other means 
the shaping of public opinion in the right direction 
would go on, as it did. 

Very soon was our church strongly reinforced 
by the coming of Major General 0. 0. Howard 
to take command of the Department of the Colum- 
bia. As loyal Congregationalists he and his wife 
and family cast in their lot with us ; and one of the 
GeneraPs staff and his wife did the same. The 
commander taught a Bible class, and occasionally 
occupied my pulpit, when it was necessary for me 
to be absent in the interest of other churches. 
"When General Phil Sheridan visited our city on 
his wedding journey, the reception given in his 
honor by General Howard afforded opportunity 
to meet him and his charming bride. 

There were still living in the community men 
and women who were reminders of the earlier days 
when it was not yet determined that Oregon and 
Washington should belong to the United States. 
The tall form of the famous trapper and Indian 
fighter, Joseph Meek, was seen on our streets. 
Then there was ^^ Father Walker" of no less gi- 
gantic stature, early missionary of the American 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 39 

Board to the Indians at Walla Walla, and ^^ Father 
Eells," his companion on the far frontier. 

That second year, 1874, was not far advanced 
before I f onnd myself wearied with carrying the 
unaccustomed weight of large responsibilities ; and 
the church was frankly informed of my wish to 
be relieved entirely of the burden, unless it might 
be practicable to arrange for an extended ex- 
change of pulpits with some eastern minister. 
The good people expressed their preference for 
the second alternative; and soon it was decided 
that the Reverend A. H. Bradford of Montclair, 
New Jersey, would take my place for the months 
of June to September inclusive, and commit his 
people to my care for the same period, each min- 
ister having obtained leave of absence for six 
months. Years afterwards it was learned from 
the Bradfords, that they too were just then feel- 
ing that some way must be found for securing a 
much needed rest, but could not see how it was to 
be brought about, when, behold! the novel pro- 
posal arrived by mail. 

What a summer sojourn was that for me, pur- 
suing the study not of books but of folks, making 
the acquaintance of choice men and women who 
had formerly belonged to churches in New York, 
Brooklyn and Jersey City. There were visits to 
the great metropolis, to relatives and friends in the 
vicinity and in New England, and to the meeting 
in New Haven of the National Congregational 



40 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Council, to which I was elected delegate from the 
churches of Oregon and Washington. 

At the very first was made the discovery that 
the chairman of the board of trustees of the Mont- 
clair church, Mr. Julius H. Pratt, was a classmate 
of my father at Yale College. If the reading of 
these lines were to be confined to my children and 
grandchildren, I might feel at liberty to enter into 
some details of what happened in the course of the 
next few months; but the veil of reserve must 
cover them. However, it may be stated that my 
pleasant sojourn did not end with the farewell 
reception in the church parlors, when a generous 
purse was placed in my hands. For another month 
I tarried; and when I began the return journey, 
by a Pacific Mail steamer to Aspinwall, by rail 
across the Isthmus of Panama, and thence by an- 
other vessel to San Francisco, I wore an engage- 
ment ring which had been given me in exchange for 
one placed on the hand of Miss Gertrude Clifford 
Pratt, who had recently returned from a year and 
a half of study and travel in Europe after her 
course at Vassar College. 

In the following spring came two influential 
women of the Portland church to my study, osten- 
sibly to make a friendly call. But as they arose 
to take their leave, they said something about 
wishing to make the acquaintance of a certain 
young lady concerning whom they had heard very 
pleasant things, and without further explanation 
laid upon my table a tiny parcel. After their de- 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 41 

parture this was found to contain about five hun- 
dred dollars, in shining twenty dollar gold coins. 
Then was their meaning plain! But could the 
church be left again so soon for a long absence? 
Once more were the fates propitious; since Mrs. 
Pratt was to make the voyage via Panama in com- 
pany with a lady friend who sought recovery of 
health, the daughter decided to go with her mother 
to the far western coast. 

We met in San Francisco ; and there was a wed- 
ding one morning at nine o'clock in the First 
Church, attended by about fifty friends. The most 
popular minister in the city at that time was Dr. 
A. L. Stone, who was a finished orator and pos- 
sessed of a rarely musical voice. Of course I 
could not assume that in this case the rule of pro- 
fessional courtesy would prevail ; therefore at the 
close of a call the evening before at the minister's 
residence, for the purpose of engaging the ser- 
vices of his organist, I ventured to place in the 
doctor 's hand an envelope containing a fee for him- 
self. After the ceremony the next day, when Dr. 
Stone in his inimitable manner had extended con- 
gratulations to the newly wedded pair, he slipped 
the identical envelope into the hands of the bride 
with the remark: ^^I think this belongs to you." 
In the evening were found written on my own sheet 
of paper the words: ^' These golden compliments 
of the bridegroom are returned to the bride, with 
best wishes for her happiness, by the officiating 
ministef/' So that all three participants were 



42 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

gratified, the coin having followed the same circle 
which had been taken by the wedding ring a few 
moments before. 

At the Cliff House was given by Mrs. Pratt a 
wedding breakfast to abont a dozen friends who 
were closest to the family. The next day we boarded 
the overland train to Summit, and thence were 
driven fifty miles via Truckee to Lake Tahoe, on 
the way having a magnificent view from our out- 
side seats, of a part of the snow-covered Coast 
Range. One evening when the fascinating lake 
was flooded with the glory of the moon, we and 
another young couple were invited to form a party 
for a boat ride. The oars were plied by the clerk 
of the hotel while our other host, who owned the 
boats for hire, sat in the bow and sang to us, 
accompanying himself on the guitar. By day while 
floating on the surface one could see very far 
down into the depths and observe pictured on the 
bottom the moving images of the ripples above. 
So clear was the water that one scarcely noticed 
where it met the air; and one felt the sensation 
recorded by Mark Twain who was almost ready to 
believe that he was floating in the atmosphere. 

Since the season of rains and muddy roads was 
past, we decided to make the journey to Portland 
by land. For a part of the ride to Eedding we 
enjoyed the delightful company of Dr. J. K. Mc- 
Lean, then pastor of the First Congregational 
Church of Oakland, (but formerly in charge of 
Plymouth Church in Framingham, Massachusetts, 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 43 

to which our family had belonged for several gene- 
rations), who was bound for Shasta Springs and 
a vacation, hunting and fishing. 

We had reserved outside seats alongside the 
driver of the stagecoach which was to start on 
Saturday morning at six o'clock. It was drawn 
by six spirited horses that were exchanged for a 
fresh team every ten or twelve miles. There were 
many places on that road through the mountains, 
which the iron horse had not yet penetrated, 
where a slight swerving from the narrow track 
or a failure of the brakes on a steep descent would 
have launched us into eternity. The successive 
drivers did not hesitate to play upon the imagina- 
tion of the young lady passenger by describing 
some of their hairbreadth escapes from fatal acci- 
dent. After eighteen hours of that sort of experi- 
ence we felt exhausted in mind and body when we 
dismounted from our perch to rest for the twenty- 
four hours of the Lord's Day in a little inn at 
Strawberry Valley, in full view of Mount Shasta. 
At the midnight hour we were again on the road, 
to continue to the end of two hundred and seventy- 
five miles of this mode of travel until we reached 
Roseburg and a railroad train. 

Portland introduced the bride to a life full of 
novelties in landscape, people, social requirements 
and service as pastor's wife. Her musical gifts 
and training were soon discovered and utilized; 
so that she frequently sang contralto solos in con- 



44 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

certs given for the benefit of the chnrch, and was 
employed as organist for the Sunday services. 

Soon after the opening of the year 1876 which 
offered the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, 
we faced the necessity of deciding whether or no 
to remain indefinitely in the northwest. Frankly 
we were not captivated with the climate. Delight- 
ful as it was to see roses blooming in the door- 
yards all through the year, we did not fancy the 
prevalence for months in succession of ^'Oregon 
mist'^ which for the first two weeks after my own 
arrival did not permit the sun to show its face for 
even one brief moment. Umbrellas and overshoes 
became a burden. The girl who had scaled the 
Eighi Culm and been photographed there with 
alpenstock in hand, lost all inclination to mountain 
climbing. Then, too, the young minister felt that 
in time he would have to seek renewal of energy 
through a change of pastorate, and it seemed ad- 
visable to resign his charge then, rather than at 
a later time. 

But the sundering of tender ties which had al- 
ready been formed between pastor and people was 
a painful ordeal for both of us. On the last Sun- 
day, the thirtieth of April, in the morning was 
preached my farewell sermon to a crowded house 
from the text ^^As the mountains are round about 
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people,' ^ 
and the discourse was printed in full in the lead- 
ing newspaper. Children were presented for bap- 
tism. In the evening was the place filled again 
for celebrating the Lord's Supper and for or- 



ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BACK 45 

daining in a fitting manner three additional 
deacons. On Thursday evening, just before board- 
ing the steamer Oriflamme, we attended the reg- 
ular midweek meeting presided over by one of the 
older deacons. In prayer and song voices choked 
with deep feeling. At the close came the dreaded 
handclasps and farewells, which some avoided by 
leaving the room in silence. The tears were brim- 
ming in men's eyes. The pastor's wife became sep- 
arated from her husband and, surrounded by 
friends, was overcome by emotion. In the days 
just preceding we had received proofs of strong 
attachment. One evening we heard two or three 
dozen rings of our doorbell, the first intimation of 
a surprise party of thirty-five persons, composed 
of my wife's Bible class of young men and their 
lady friends, who brought refreshments and valu- 
able gifts. The following evening was given an- 
other surprise, when a larger company filled the 
house and witnessed the presentation to the re- 
tiring pastor of a valuable gold watch and chain, 
suitably engraved, which after forty-six years 
of service, and pretty rough usage for two-thirds 
of that period in Mexico, is keeping as accurate 
time as at the beginning. What greatly enhanced 
its value to the recipient was the knowledge that 
almost every one connected with the church and 
the Bible school had contributed to its purchase; 
so that the beautiful gift has been a continual re- 
minder through all the intervening years of the 
love and good wishes of the men and women and 
children who constituted my first parish. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, NEW JERSEY 

Midsummer found us again in Montclair; and 
soon we learned of a church which had been organ- 
ized in Bound Brook by families that for the most 
part had belonged to the Presbyterian communion, 
though some came from the Dutch Reformed 
Church. They had entered the Congregational 
fellowship to free themselves from certain local 
embarrassments, and were not seeking pecuniary 
aid from outside. They had been ministered to 
for a time by Dr. Edward Beecher, meeting in the 
assembly room of an academy; but they planned 
soon to build a house of worship, and were looking 
for a pastor. I was invited to make their acquain- 
tance and perhaps take charge of the new enter- 
prise. For six Sundays we worshipped together 
in the school, the minister being received as guest 
in as many different homes each time from Satur- 
day until Monday. 

In September we were on our way to Hartford 
to attend the annual meeting of the American 
Board, stopping along the road with relatives on 
the wife's side of the house, in Stratford, Bridge- 
port and New Haven. During the stay in Bridge- 

46 



I ^ 




Church Edifice in Bound Brook 



THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, N. J. 47 

port there came by wire a call to the pastorate 
of the Bound Brook church. But in Hartford, 
when that Christian statesman, Secretary N. G. 
Clark, met me in the lobby of his hotel, he recog- 
nized the former Andover student and, holding 
my hand in a close grasp, said in his impressive 
way: ^^ Eaton, in the name of the American Board 
I extend to you a call to Japan. ' ' Each of the calls 
in its own way made a strong appeal and was 
matter for serious and prayerful meditation. 

In Stratford we had made the acquaintance of 
William Elliot Griffis, recently returned from his 
years of service at the Imperial University in 
Japan; for he came to deliver a lecture on that 
country and its people, and was entertained in 
the same hospitable home with ourselves. To him 
I went for information concerning missionary 
methods. While he expressed hearty sympathy 
with efforts to evangelize the Japanese, the inter- 
view decided me to accept the call to Bound Brook. 
The church was composed of substantial and in- 
telligent people who were very loyal to the new 
enterprise ; and while there was not in it a single 
family of Congregational antecedents, all took 
most kindly to the unwonted freedom. One of the 
first things they did, even before securing a pastor, 
was to compile and print a complete church manual 
of their own ; and their first leader found it a pleas- 
ant task to train them in Congregational ways. 
My installation in the pastorate was deferred for 
some months until it could be combined with the 



48 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

dedication of the house of worship already under 
construction. Then we had a feast day indeed, 
with the dedication sermon preached by George 
H. Hepworth of New York in the afternoon, and 
that for the installation by Dr. J. E. Eankin of 
Washington at night. During the first winter 
was shown deep interest in the things of the spirit ; 
and without summoning to our aid any profes- 
sional evangelist, a considerable number were 
added to the church on confession of faith. This 
was considered to be sufficient evidence that a wise 
decision had been made. 

In marked contrast to our extreme isolation 
in the far northwest was our close proximity to 
the pulsing life of a great city, which we could 
reach by any one of three lines of railroad. It 
was my habit to attend the Monday meetings of 
our ministers of New York and vicinity. During 
that first year was organized the Congregational 
Club to promote closer fellowship among the 
churches of the same district. About the same 
time was formed the Northern New Jersey Con- 
ference to bring into still more intimate relations 
the congregations of that area. Pulpit exchanges 
were more frequent than they are now ; and in this 
way our local church enjoyed the privilege of hear- 
ing the messages and becoming acquainted with 
the personalities of some of the fine pastors of our 
fellowship. Dr. W. H. Campbell of New Bruns- 
wick, President of Eutgers College, was an accom- 
plished Hebrew scholar, and had the reputation 



THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, N. J. 49 

of being able to quote almost any passage of the 
Old Testament in the original, giving chapter and 
verse. As he was my mother's nncle we were 
made welcome in his home ; and it was very pleas- 
ant to drive there on one side of the Raritan river 
and return on the other. He was a very acceptable 
preacher and addressed my own congregation. 

On the tenth of February, 1878, a secretary 
of the American Board was presenting the cause 
of foreign missions in our church. Just before 
the close of the morning service the pastor was 
summoned to his home ; and in the evening the sec- 
retary announced, when the offering was about to 
be received, that a son had been born to the pastor 
and wife. He added that he felt so sure that the 
^^ Sunday child" would become a minister and per- 
haps a missionary, that the Board would constitute 
him an honorary member for the sum of fifty dol- 
lars, the customary clerical rate for enrolling a 
name on that dignified list. In due time there was 
received a large and beautifully engraved certifi- 
cate of the admission of the infant to that fellow- 
ship. The boy did indeed become a student volun- 
teer, after having lived for years in Mexico ; but he 
graduated in medicine rather than in theology, in 
1904 returning to his adopted country and the 
people whose language he spoke. However, as our 
denomination had no medical work there, he 
opened a private office and soon built up a good 
practice among both Mexicans and Americans. At 
the same time he was so active in the work of the 



50 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

church in several departments, particularly tak- 
ing upon himself the entire charge of the music 
for the English congregation, that he became in 
effect a self-supporting missionary physician. In 
view of his usefulness the foreign secretary of the 
Board offered to have his name enrolled among 
those of its missionaries in Mexico, to be followed 
by the words, in parenthesis, ^^not under com- 
mission." After the lapse of seven years, the 
overthrow of the government of General Diaz 
caused the exodus from the city of many of his 
clientele, obliging him to remove to the United 
States in order to support his family. 

The summer vacations are recalled with plea- 
sure. The first was spent at Ithaca, New York, 
where we were guests of the daughter of Ezra 
Cornell, founder of the university of that name. 
Her father was no longer living, but she occupied 
the great mansion of stone which he built, 
over whose portal was sculptured a sentiment sug- 
gestive of the genuine and the enduring, while 
each one of the rooms within was finished in 
some natural wood different from that used in 
any of the others. The university campus was 
close at hand, inviting acquaintance with the most 
prominent buildings and with the residences of 
certain professors of note. On Sunday we at- 
tended service in the beautiful chapel which had 
been presented to the school by Mrs. Pratt's 
brother, Mr. Alfred S. Barnes. Day after day 
were we taken by our generous hostess, who was 



THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, N. J. 51 



an intimate friend of Mrs. Eaton at Vassar Col- 
lege, on interesting excursions ; to some one of the 
famous glens, or for a sail on the lake and a picnic 
near a vineyard whose clusters of luscious grapes 
were within easy reach. 

In the following summer was undertaken a 
pedestrian tour through the White Mountains in 
company with my old teacher, John J. Copp of 
Groton, Connecticut. Up the valleys of the Merri- 
mac and the Pemigewasset rivers we trudged with 
knapsacks on our backs, finding lodging at night 
in wayside farmhouses, in some of which we 
feasted on generous bowls of bread and milk and 
huckleberries; and through forests and vividly 
green intervales, following the courses of moun- 
tain brooks up to Franconia Notch. Mount La- 
fayette was scaled on horseback. Then starting at 
the foot of the Presidential Eange, we climbed 
the steep trail, mounting successive heights until 
we gained the top of Mount Washington itself, 
having covered the eight miles in four hours and 
thirty-five minutes. But before the summit was 
reached we were overtaken by a storm of rain 
which turned to snow; so that our thirst was 
quenched by draughts of the ice cold water which 
had collected in the depressions of the rocks. The 
Boston papers of the following morning reported 
having experienced the hottest day of the season 
while we were making tracks in the snow. 

The third vacation was passed in Virginia, the 
three of us, (for Howard was now a sturdy little 



52 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

fellow of eighteen months), going by steamer from 
New York into Chesapeake Bay, visiting Norfolk, 
and then np the James River to Richmond, whence 
we were driven fourteen miles to picturesque Car- 
bon Hill, where the Torreys were living in planta- 
tion style, Mr. Torrey being in charge of the coke 
mines in which Mr. Pratt was interested, and 
which are the only ones of the kind in this country. 
During the Civil War they furnished fuel for the 
famous Tredegar Iron Works. In Richmond were 
afforded many opportunities to become acquainted 
with persons and places of note on the Confeder- 
ate side. There was Colonel Thomas G. Jackson 
who was an officer on the staff of General Hood 
at the Battle of Gettysburg where he was wounded. 
He knew about the Iron Brigade to which my 
father belonged. He was proud of the part he had 
in hanging John Brown, of whose career he talked 
in connection with showing us through the State 
Library and the rooms of the Southern Historical 
Society. He was one of fifty Confederate offi- 
cers who were placed under fire in our fleet off 
Charleston during a period of sixty days, in re- 
taliation for the holding of fifty Union officers 
in a Charleston prison while our guns were shell- 
ing that city. He did not believe in ' ' kid glove fight- 
ing, '' adhering rather to the rule, ^^Kill all you 
can.'' Another interesting person was Rev. John 
W. Jones, chaplain to General Robert E. Lee, 
who was curator of the historical rooms. At Grace 
Presbyterian Church, whose pulpit was supplied 



THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, N. J. 53 

by me for two Sundays, I met the superintendent 
of the Sunday-school, a splendid type of Christian 
gentleman, who had been so prominent in the 
war that for some time after its ending he was 
held prisoner by the Federal government in Fort 
Lafayette. 

My joumeyings included visits to Petersburg 
and the scenes of the prolonged siege in which 
my father's regiment took part; to Lexington, 
where I saw the grave of General ^^ Stonewall'' 
Jackson and the military school in which he had 
been instructor, the graves of General Lee and his 
wife in the basement of the chapel of the uni- 
versity of which he became the head after 
peace was declared, and his ofl&ce just as he left it, 
the table being covered with letters, pamphlets 
and papers, including an unfinished manuscript 
which was intended to give permission to certain 
students to visit the Natural Bridge ; and to "White 
Sulphur Springs and the annual meeting of the 
Southern Historical Society, where reminiscent 
talks or impassioned addresses were given by such 
representative men as General W. H. F. Lee and 
General Chalmers who was next in command to 
General Forrest. On the journey to the Springs 
by stagecoach, among my fellow passengers were 
two sisters, one of whom was a widow accom- 
panied by four children. They courteously gave 
me some useful information in regard to that 
popular resort, and when they learned that their 
chance acquaintance was a Mr. Eaton, they said: 



54 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

^^We knew of a northern minister of that name 
who did ns a great kindness. Our brother was 
wounded at Gettysburg and taken prisoner; we 
could learn nothing of him for six months after 
that battle, until there was effected an exchange of 
prisoners, and a friend told us where he was. We 
tried to get some money to him, but failed. He fell 
ill, and two months later, March 17, 1864, he died. 
But before the end came, that Eeverend Mr. Eaton 
wrote for him a letter to one of us, conveying his 
dying message.'^ One of the ladies still treasured 
the letter and described very accurately the pen- 
manship, adding that the missive was ^4ike balm 
to a wounded spirit," and she could never ade- 
quately express her feeling of gratitude to my 
father. When we parted at Natural Bridge, she 
sent to him her loving remembrances. 

The subject of General Chalmers' address 
was the career of General N. B. Forrest, who was 
abhorred by us of the North for what he did upon 
the taking of Fort Pillow, slaying both its white 
defenders and the colored troops, including women 
and children. While General Sherman was guilt- 
less of a similiar atrocity, the southerners who 
recall the burning of Atlanta and the other losses 
they suffered in connection with the ^^ March to 
the Sea,'' do not have any more admiration for 
the leader of that expedition than do we north- 
erners cherish for the memory of General For- 
rest. However, years ago those deeds of hate 
and wanton destruction were forgiven by the men 



THE PASTORATE IN BOUND BROOK, N. J. 55 

who fought, whether they wore the blue or the 
gray. 

By the end of the fourth year of our residence 
in Bound Brook my health had become seriously 
impaired, owing to the miasma generated in the 
low basin east of the town by the damming up of a 
small brook to furnish power to a flour mill. 
When the store of water was exhausted, the rank 
vegetation of that basin was exposed to the hot 
sun of summer, with the result that many of the 
townspeople were sufferers from intermittent 
fever. Years later the miniature swamp was 
drained, restoring healthful conditions. But in 
my case the harm had been done ; and in the slug- 
gish state of both body and mind the work required 
in pulpit and in parish became a burden not easy 
to bear. On a Sunday morning my resignation of 
the pastorate was placed in the hands of one of 
the deacons, to be read at the close of the service 
after my retirement from the scene. 

In the afternoon there waited upon me a com- 
mittee to offer a leave of absence for one year, 
with salary continued, while the church would be 
responsible for obtaining ministers to fill the pul- 
pit. Such kindness was overwhelming, and in a 
way embarrassing; for the decision to ask for 
permanent release from service had not been 
made hastily. But the friends were emphatic in 
their refusal even to consider a resignation until 
after the proposed long period of rest had been 
tried. Finally there was effected a compromise 



56 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

through my acceptance of a vacation for six 
months; and the salary was paid in advance for 
that period. 

How the time was spent will be told in the fol- 
lowing chapter. For the present it is enough to 
record the fact that the work of the pastorate in 
Bound Brook was resumed in good faith, although 
not without some misgivings. As the summer of 
1881 approached, the former feeling of lassitude 
and other symptoms of the ailment which had 
not been fully understood before, returned. 
Again was my resignation tendered, and this 
time it was accepted by a unanimous vote. With- 
in the next few weeks were made some sixty appli- 
cations, either by ministers themselves or by their 
friends speaking or writing for them, for oppor- 
tunity to fill the vacant place. All this was in 
striking contrast to the situation in the far North- 
west, where it was so difficult to find men of capac- 
ity and the right spirit, to organize the little 
bands of believers scattered through settlements 
that were coming into existence along the rivers 
and in the fertile valleys of Oregon and Wash- 
ington and on the shores of Puget Sound, and to 
help make them nurseries of strong churches for 
the coming years, inspirational centers of genu- 
inely Christian community life for the future teem- 
ing population. 



CHAPTER V 

A TBIANGULAB VOYAGE UNDER SAIL AND STEAM 

An unexpected vacation of six months had been 
proffered and accepted; it remained to decide as 
to the best use of it. Mr. Pratt advised me to take 
a long ocean voyage, and offered to care for my 
wife and little son in his own home. In order to 
obtain the largest amount of rest and sea air for 
the money, passage was engaged on the barque 
Nina Sheldon, of eight hundred tons register, 
which in July sailed for Buenos Ayres, Argentine 
Republic, with the expectation of arriving at that 
port within fifty to sixty days. In the tiny cabin 
were four staterooms occupied respectively by the 
captain, the first and the second mate and the one 
passenger; and three times a day was the table 
laid for ^^us four and no more.'' It was a lonely 
course we followed, in all the voyage having op- 
portunity to exchange audible greetings with but 
one vessel, and communicate with two others by 
means of signal flags. 

The deck of so small a vessel was not elevated 
much above the water, and therefore furnished 
to one who spent upon it nearly all the hours of 
daylight a most advantageous position for observ- 

57 



58 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ing marine life and the varying phases of the 
ocean itself. The gambols of porpoises and the 
spouting of whales became familiar sights. Occa- 
sionally a dolphin was drawn up out of its element 
and supplied a delicacy for our table, although 
it seemed almost barbarous to take the life of an 
animal which in dying displayed to our astonished 
gaze all the hues of the rainbow. In the near 
vicinity would be descried Mother Carey's chick- 
ens, Portugese men of war, squids, sea geese and, 
when we were within three hundred miles of the 
coast of Africa, the gulls of tireless wing. It was 
exhilarating to witness the sudden emergence from 
the water of shoals of flying fish that would skim 
swiftly along just above the surface, and as sud- 
denly return to their habitat. Occasionally some 
of these would alight on the deck, and they were 
a welcome addition to our rather monotonous 
menu, having a flavor similar to that of mountain 
trout. 

Nearing the equator we entered the region of 
calms and of copious rains called '^The Dol- 
drums, '^ much of the time the heavens being black 
with low hanging clouds, from which came vivid 
flashes of lightning followed by crashing thunder 
that reverberated like the sound of heavy artillery. 
Because of the heat and the moisture, our very 
shoes gathered mildew when left unused for a few 
days. Impatiently would the captain pace the 
deck, stopping now and then to try to ^'whistle 
up a breeze. '' On one occasion, when the barque 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 59 

was moving slowly forward and hope stirred in 
our breasts, he discerned in the dim distance a 
sail far astern, and at once expressed his fear 
that that vessel might ^^ steal our breeze." At 
length he became seriously ill ; and the first mate 
sought my assistance in making out the daily 
'^reckoning." When the sick man did not im- 
prove, that officer confided to me his belief that 
quite likely we might have to bury the captain at 
sea. However, he did recover some degree of 
strength, and survived the return voyage ; but he 
had to be carried ashore at Newport, Rhode 
Island, his home, and did not again sail the ship 
of which he was chief owner. 

As we proceeded southward the constellation 
of the Southern Cross came into view by night; 
and by day my shadow on the deck began to be cast 
in a direction opposite to that with which the most 
of us are familiar. We had entered upon the late 
winter season of the southern hemisphere ; and an 
overcoat was needed for protection against the 
cold. In that invigorating air the spirit of ad- 
venture revived; and one September afternoon 
I decided to try climbing the shrouds, in the hope 
of at least making the main-top. The ascent was 
made with care, not using the ^^rat lines'' which 
sometimes give way, and pausing occasionally to 
look around for the purpose of keeping my head 
level. Gaining fresh courage at the main-top, I 
went on to the topmast crosstrees and sat upon 
them, and was cheered by an officer on deck. 



60 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

From that elevation, another barque in the offing 
seemed to rise much higher than usual out of the 
water, and the circle of the visible sea had grown 
larger. 

Two days later, near sunset, was heard the cry, 
*^A whale !'^ We heard him ^^blow" and saw his 
huge, dark bulk heave itself out of the water al- 
most under the bow of the vesseL For more than 
an hour did he continue to play around in our vi- 
cinity. The men said : ^ ^ A whale brings wind ' ' ; and 
sure enough, within a few hours it began to blow, 
the sea roughened, and the following day the decks 
were wet with spray as we dashed onward. From 
the supper table, in spite of the protecting racks, 
were swept to the floor many of the dishes before 
we had a chance to partake of their contents. We 
were making ten knots an hour by the log, more 
with aid of the current, and coming within fifty 
miles of land. Next to the last evening occurred 
a phosphorescent display which in truth might be 
termed magnificent. Every breaking crest of a 
wave was a glitter of light. The log-line drew 
a pencilling of light for many feet astern, and the 
vessel itself appeared to be plowing through liquid 
fire. It was a damp, cloudy night with no moon, 
but not very dark, because of this display. In 
such circumstances, said the captain, it is difficult 
to distinguish the lights of an approaching vessel. 
He explained the phenomenon by reference to 
^^the amount of oxygen in the air!" 

Before the night came on we saw a great alba- 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 61 

tross sailing about majestically, without once flap- 
ping his wings, — clothed with dark feathers above 
and pure white beneath. Early in the morning 
the captain called to me, ^^Come on deck quick. '^ 
There was to be seen clearly defined a line be- 
tween the blue ocean and the green water of the 
Rio de la Plata. It looked as if there were actually 
a ridge between the two, caused by the current of 
the stream pushing against the ocean current 
made by the wind. We sighted Lobos Island and 
then the lighthouse on East Point, and were soon 
sailing on an even keel up the broad river whose 
water now was yellow and muddy looking. The 
banks were low and without interest after passing 
the city of Montevideo ; and the sailing directions 
made mention of ^^a clump of trees'' or *^an ombu 
tree," or ^^a few poplar trees," or ^^ a hut," as 
objects to be sighted! Indeed, when our course 
lay near one of the banks we could not see the 
other, because even as far up as Buenos Ayres 
the river is twenty miles wide. 

On the morning of September 27th our vessel 
anchored in the ^^ outer road," four miles from 
shore in deep water, and the sole passenger was 
transported in a lighter and next in a small boat 
to the landing ; for not then were in existence the 
great wharves which have since been constructed 
to meet the demands of the most populous city in 
South America. It was seventy-six days since I 
had gone on board the Nina Sheldon, during which 
time a completely rigged model of her had been 



62 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

made for me by the first mate ; and for the period 
of seventy-two days in succession had we been 
out of sight of land. Our fresh meat and vege- 
tables all had been consumed ; the last chicken in 
the coops sacrificed ; and for several days had the 
cook been giving us ^^ cracker hash" which is a con- 
coction of tinned meat and soda biscuit. With 
what a thrill of joy did I tread the earth once 
more, and in the spring of the year too, with the 
streams running bankful and flowers blooming 
on every hand! 

The American Minister, General Osborne, 
showed me courtesies that were greatly appre- 
ciated ; as did also Dr. Thompson of the Methodist 
Episcopal Mission, and the assistant pastor of 
the Scotch Presbyterian Church, Eev. J. W. Flem- 
ming, recently graduated from the University of 
Edinburgh, who with his wife entertained me at 
dinner in their charming home in the near suburb 
of Flores. All around were attractive villas, in- 
cluding the residence of the Argentine President, 
embowered in callas, geraniums and foliage plants, 
while wistarias hung their purple clusters in thick 
masses over verandas. My host informed me that 
all trees and shrubs that were introduced there 
grew with wonderful rapidity ; indeed, the aspect 
of things in general vividly recalled what had been 
seen in California. 

. It was surprising to find so large and prosper- 
ous a city, with imposing public buildings, at- 
tractive parks and a multitude of horse cars and 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 63 

carriages for hire traversing the streets in all di- 
rections. The milkmen were found to be Basques 
from the Pyrenees, who were accustomed to ride 
into town from their ranches on horseback, with 
two or three cans hanging on each side of the beast. 
As a result of the continual shaking of the contents 
by the way, there was usually to be found upon 
arrival butter in the mouth of the containers. If 
not, the milkman would trot around the streets for 
a while longer until the butter came; when he 
would collect it in a clean, white cloth, and sell 
to his customers both milk and butter from the 
same can. The milk tasted as good as that which 
is usually served by the creamery wagons calling 
at our houses ; and the sweet butter was as deli- 
cious as the kind which is furnished in Switzer- 
land. 

After a week^s acquaintance with the novel life 
and surroundings there, it was necessary to reem- 
bark, but not on a sailing vessel. However, it 
was not possible to obtain passage to New York 
by steamer ; the only practicable way was to make 
the journey via Europe. Accordingly my reserva- 
tion was made on the steamship Van DycJc of the 
Lamport and Holt Line, bound for Antwerp, but 
which would call at Southampton. It stopped for 
an entire day at Montevideo, giving opportunity 
for exploring the capital of Uruguay ; a city with 
wide, clean streets and fine buildings in the con- 
struction of which had been used much Italian 
marble. The public theatre was like a palace with- 



64 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

out ; within was a great auditorium with five tiers 
of galleries, the topmost one being for men ex- 
clusively, the next for women, and the remainder 
divided into boxes. It was flanked on one side by 
the public library, and on the other by a museum. 
At the ^^bolsa" or exchange the most marked fea- 
ture was a lofty rotunda, on the walls of which 
were displayed the flags and coats of arms of all 
nations. In the cathedral, whose high altar and 
pulpits are fine examples of wood carving, was 
found a shrine dedicated to a black saint, whose 
name has been given to many of the Negroes living 
in the city. Of the many street scenes, perhaps the 
most novel was the driving side by side of three 
mares past some of the residences to furnish milk 
for infants and invalids. 

Our steamer's cargo consisted mainly of hides, 
horns, tallow, dried blood, peanut cake, honey, 
flour, bran and minerals. Also there had been 
taken aboard at Buenos Ayres many heavy boxes 
of the precious metals, in addition to two hundred 
and twenty thousand pounds sterling in silver from 
the mines of Bolivia, which the captain had 
brought down from his voyage up the Parana and 
Paraguay rivers. From Eosario he had brought 
a ^^ river pig'' for the zoological gardens of Ant- 
werp. We felt compassion for the forlorn little 
beast which was kept chained, instead of being 
free to follow its instincts to burrow in the river 
bank, and swim in the water. It had a big snout, 
rather small ears, long and coarse brown hair or 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 65 

bristles, and its feet seemed to be a cross between 
the hoofs of a pig and the web-feet of a duck. 
There was a part of the cargo which was to be- 
come less by degrees as we proceeded on the voy- 
age, and which particularly interested one who 
had been reduced to very short rations on the 
sailing vessel. It was reassuring to see many 
quarters of beef, forty sheep, coops of chickens 
and rabbits, and uncounted ducks, geese, turkeys 
and pigeons. 

As we steamed steadily northward, no longer 
at the mercy of uncertain winds, and viewed our 
course from a deck so much higher above the water 
than was that of the Nina Sheldon, and having 
the attention somewhat diverted by the presence 
of other passengers as well as of a much larger 
crew, I realized that it would not be possible 
under such circumstances to gain the acquaintance 
with the sea and its denizens which had been ac- 
quired during the preceding voyage under sail 
for almost eleven weeks. During the first few days 
there was actually a feeling of being hurried along, 
and that the time might be too short for all the 
reading and writing that had been planned, be- 
fore landing on England's shore! 

The next port we made was the wonderfully 
spacious and beautiful land-locked harbor of Rio 
de Janeiro, where Consul General Thomas Adam- 
son gave a hearty welcome to the son-in-law of 
his intimate friend, Julius H. Pratt, urging me to 
remain for a week and continue my journey by 



66 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

another steamer. His hospitality was accepted 
for the two days our ship remained in port, and 
his entire time was devoted to showing me the me- 
tropolis of Brazil and its environs. It would be im- 
possible within the limits of this narrative to give 
an account of all the objects of interest which 
were viewed in those two days, or even to tran- 
scribe to these pages the voluminous notes that 
were made when the rare experiences were yet 
freshly in mind. But brief mention must be made 
of the visit to the botanical gardens which gath- 
ered within one enclosure all that seemed most 
characteristic of tropic growth. From the en- 
trance there stretched straight before us an ave- 
nue of imperial palms for a distance of nine hun- 
dred feet, having the center occupied by a foun- 
tain, with encircling vases of flowers. The gray 
trunks rose to a majestic height and terminated 
in stems of tender growth which shaded from dark 
green to bright yellow. The convex surface of 
each stem seemed to be polished like burnished 
metal, and it shone with rainbow hues. Topping 
each tree was the foliage, in the form of a cluster 
of mammoth plumes like ostrich feathers. To the 
right and the left, at different angles, were ave- 
nues bordered with other kinds of trees, one to an 
avenue. Noticeable among them was the mango, 
on account of its wide-branching limbs and dark 
foliage casting an impenetrable shade, and because 
of its unfamiliar fruit. Bewildering was the va- 
riety of palms. Bananas, coffee trees, bamboo 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 67 

thickets, and many other trees, plants and shrubs 
never imagined before, were on every hand. 

Through The Doldrums we passed so quickly 
that little was seen of the sea and sky which had 
been observed so anxiously while the barque lay 
becalmed for weeks, two months before. By the 
Cape de Verde Islands and the Canaries in suc- 
cession we steamed, until we reached Funchal in 
the Madeiras, where the ship had to be coaled, and 
we enjoyed opportunity to observe features of the 
picturesque island and the quaint town rambling 
up the abrupt side of the mountain which faced us. 
Off Cape Finisterre we were overtaken by a sudden 
gale of wind with a rising of the waves which at 
times broke over the deck, so that two men were 
placed at the wheel, all portholes tightly closed, 
and the skylight covered with tarpaulins, the cap- 
tain being obliged frequently to change his 
clothes because he was so often drenched by the 
salt water. 

At the end of October, thirty days from Buenos 
Aires, and on a Sunday morning, was our vessel 
made fast to the wharf at Southampton ; and I lost 
no time in boarding a train for Winchester, in 
order to attend public worship there. It was a 
walk of two miles to the church, near the Saint 
Cross Hospital, founded by Bishop Henry de Blois 
in the year 1136, part of the way being a path 
through green fields. After nearly four months 
passed upon the wide waste of waters, it was in- 
expressibly delightful to tread the solid ground 



68 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of Old England so full of rich associations with 
past centuries. There was an exuberant song in 
my heart while my lips repeated the words of the 
familiar hymn: 

^^0 day of rest and gladness, 
day of joy and light, 
balm of care and sadness, 
Most beautiful, most bright.'^ 

But the great attraction was the vesper service 
in the famous cathedral, in its dimensions the 
longest of any in England and one of the most 
ancient, showing in both the tower and the nave 
remains of early Norman architecture. It was a 
novel experience to be assigned a seat in one of 
the stalls of the choir, alongside the singers, who 
gave us as their principal number an anthem by 
Handel. Because the elaborate musical service 
was very popular with the public, and to avoid an 
anti-climax through the thinning out of the congre- 
gation, the sermon was put first. Consequently 
when the excellent discourse was ended, in came 
the people of the town, troop after troop, until 
there was gathered a large assemblage ; then fol- 
lowed the service with intoning of prayer and 
psalm, singing by choir and people, and through it 
all the support of a rich-toned organ. 

The niches in the altar screen are empty, hav- 
ing been rifled of their images of gold and silver 
in Cromwell's time; but the vast structure abounds 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 69 

in objects of rare interest, such as the old baptis- 
mal font of black marble with its sculptured em- 
blems of the Holy Spirit and fire — a dove and a 
salamander — chantrys of the bishops, Wykham, 
Wilberforce and others, and the tomb of Isaac 
Walton. In the market stands the Holy Cross, 
with statues of King Alfred and other ancient 
worthies; in the museum is seen the original 
^^ Winchester busheP' in the form of a shallow 
metallic bowl lifted upon a standard and provided 
with handles like ears. Near the west gate of the 
city is a memorial obelisk erected over the stone 
on which merchandise for sale was placed during 
the raging of the Great Plague, payment for the 
same having to be made by means of coins which 
were thrown into receptacles filled with water. 
Farther away rises the bare Saint Catherine's 
Hill which is surmounted by a thick clump of 
trees and wears, as if it were a huge collar about 
the neck, a circular excavation that was made by 
the Eomans. 

It was too late in the season for attempting 
a general trip through the country; and for sev- 
eral weeks my close attention was given to Lon- 
don and vicinity, making a systematic study of the 
objects which are sought out by the ordinary 
tourist, as well as of some that are not generally 
known. It was my good fortune to be there on 
Lord Mayor's Day and witness the long proces- 
sion of those who accompanied the high official, 
the various guilds and aldermen with their ban- 



70 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ners, and the mayor himself carried in a gilded 
coach of state that was drawn by six caparisoned 
horses, and attended by bewigged and powdered 
footmen in gorgeous livery adorned with gold lace. 
Another event of interest was a wedding in high 
life to which a fortunate chance introduced me, 
as I was passing St. Margaret's on my way to 
Westminster Abbey and found a small crowd of 
the curious waiting at the gate. It was the marriage 
of Lady Margaret Beaumont to a member of the 
House of Commons. The bridal pair arrived in a 
carriage with but little less of pomp and circum- 
stance than that which distinguished the Lord 
Mayor, following the many carriages which had 
brought the invited guests. One of these was an 
elderly lady who wore an India cape or shawl 
that was stiff and glistening with thread of gold, 
so that she was the cynosure of all eyes as she 
passed into the church. The policeman on guard 
at the entrance yielded with good nature to the 
plea of the American that he be permitted to wit- 
ness an English wedding before sailing for home. 
The service was read with great deliberation by 
Canon Farrar and the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury; and after the ceremony, while the members 
of the bridal party were occupied in affixing their 
signatures to the necessary documents, the six 
bridesmaids who wore gowns of crimson hue passed 
down the aisles bearing large shallow pasteboard 
boxes containing rosettes of satin ribbon and 
orange blossoms fitted with a pin, and distributed 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 71 

them freely, even to some poor people who were 
present, and with them decorated eight or ten 
soldiers in scarlet uniform who also were there. 

On the day following the Presidential election 
in the United States, we learned that the popular 
choice had fallen upon James A. Garfield; but it 
was disappointing to have the event receive the 
slight attention of but an inch or two of space in 
the metropolitan newspapers. But the day of such 
indifference in regard to events in our own country 
is past ; it has become a matter of great concern to 
England to learn the drift of opinion in this Re- 
public of the western world ; and all sincere lovers 
of universal brotherhood and peace hope and pray 
that no serious misunderstanding may arise be- 
tween two peoples who have so much in common 
to make them friends and partners in the exalted 
mission of promoting the welfare of humanity. 

A stay at Windsor began with attendance upon 
morning prayers in the chapel of Eton school. 
Only on a few set days in the year are visitors ad- 
mitted to the class rooms; but there was oppor- 
tunity for exchange of a few words with some of 
the students, and to observe them at play. In the 
library were shown well preserved parchments 
containing bulls of the Pope in regard to the 
school, other documents bearing the signatures 
of kings who could not write and therefore made 
their mark in the form of a cross, or affixed the 
print of their thumb. There was the signature of 
Henry the Eighth made by an engraved stamp 



72 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

which he used after he became too fat to hold a 
pen. Several hours were spent in going through 
the Castle and visiting St. George's Chapel and 
Albert Chapel, while from the top of the round 
tower or ^^keep^' was obtained a wide view of the 
valley of the Thames, the field of Eunnymede, 
Virginia Water, the Albert mausoleum at Frog- 
more and Stoke Pogis. Near the day's close came 
the walk of two or three miles from Slough station 
to the country churchyard through avenues of 
noble trees. A slab in the wall of the moss-grown 
and ivy-covered church informs the visitor that 
here is interred the poet's body. At a little dis- 
tance, in the park, is an old-fashioned coffin of 
stone lifted upon a pedestal and bearing upon 
three of its sides selections from the Elegy, while 
on the fourth is the inscription : ^ ^ This monument 
in honor of Thomas Gray was erected a.d. 1797, 
among the scenes celebrated by that great lyric 
and elegiac poet. He died July 30, 1771, and lies 
unnoticed in the churchyard adjoining, under the 
tombstone on which he piously and pathetically 
recorded the interment of his aunt and his la- 
mented mother.'' 

For the homeward voyage was made a reserva- 
tion on the steamer Queen, a staunch vessel of 
the National Line. Her seaworthiness was put to 
a severe test by a gale blowing from the west for 
five days, with ^^a heavy head sea," on each one 
of which the record of the ship's run was worse 
than on the previous day. Occasionally a wave 



A TRIANGULAR VOYAGE 73 

would break over the deck, so that it was necessary 
to cover the skylights, close the doors of exit to 
passengers, and light the saloons with lamps by 
day as well as night. On one occasion a stewardess 
passing through the dining saloon was thrown 
completely over one of the tables. Women and 
children were hurled violently from their berths 
and suffered bruises. On one of the mornings 
during that fearful storm the call to breakfast was 
answered by myself alone; and when the head 
stewardess expressed surprise at my appearance, 
this was explained by the statement that I had 
been spending four months at sea beginning with 
the long voyage in the smokeless barque, which 
had gradually accustomed me to life on the ocean 
wave. Finally at the end of sixteen days we en- 
tered the harbor of New York, but with the entire 
vessel, the rigging as well as the decks, sheathed 
in ice. Then was formed the resolution never 
again to attempt a winter passage across the At- 
lantic. 



CHAPTEE VI 

THE DOOR OPEJSrS FOR FOREIGIT SERVICE 

In retiring from the pastorate in New Jersey 
the first thing to be sought was restoration to 
health as preparing the way for further useful- 
ness ; and the bracing air of New England near the 
sea appeared to offer what was needed. Andover 
Seminary had just announced for its graduates 
and for such as might wish to come from similar 
institutions, a fourth year of study, to be called the 
Advanced Class. So to Andover we removed at 
the beginning of September, and established a tem- 
porary home under the elms in an ancient house 
with a gambrel roof, which had sheltered a suc- 
cession of married students, some of whom became 
foreign missionaries. 

Lectures were given to our class by such men as 
William J. Tucker, afterward president of Dart- 
mouth College, George T. Ladd, who later was for 
many years professor at Yale, Albert E. Dunning, 
so long editor of ^^The Congregationalist, ^ ' and 
Joseph T. Duryea, pastor of the Central Church, 
Boston. The librarian in Brechin Hall was always 
ready to direct us to the books which would be 
most helpful to our researches in any line of study. 

74 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 75 

Generations of students owed a large debt of grati- 
tude to William L. Ropes whose courtesy was un- 
failing, and who almost gave the impression that 
we were doing him a favor when we made some 
draft upon his wide and thorough acquaintance 
with the treasures stored in the alcoves of the 
library. 

Near the end of the winter came an invitation 
to preach in the West Roxbury Church, Boston. 
Over the Sunday I enjoyed the hospitality of one 
of the deacons who proved to be Dr. Nathanael 
G. Clark, foreign secretary of the American 
Board. All who knew him will remember that this 
Christian statesman of commanding presence, of 
wide intelligence and sagacious judgment, who 
would have adorned a place in the Supreme Court 
at Washington, was also a man of warm heart, 
quick to enter by sympathy into the experiences 
of all with whom he had to do. During our inti- 
mate conferences together he kindly suggested 
two or three openings in the near vicinity for en- 
tering again the work of the pastorate. But he 
was informed frankly that service of that kind in 
communities of settled religious habits did not ap- 
peal strongly to me, whatever opportunities they 
might offer incidentally for special study or liter- 
ary work or a pleasant home life among people 
of refinement and high ideals; that the impulse 
from pioneer and missionary blood flowing in my 
veins was again turning my thought toward the 
western frontier, so that already was I correspond- 



76 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ing with a Yale classmate of my father, Dr. Alex- 
ander H. Clapp of the Home Missionary Society, 
in regard to taking charge of a small church in 
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Instantly came back the 
question, ^^If you feel any inclination toward work 
in the southwest, why not continue along the Santa 
Fe railroad to El Paso, cross over the interna- 
tional line into Mexico where the builders of the 
former road have begun constructing the Mexican 
Central, and found a new mission of the American 
Board in the state of Chihuahua, supported by 
the Otis legacy?'^ 

It should be said by way of explanation that 
two or three years earlier Asa Otis, deacon in one 
of our churches in New London, Connecticut, who 
had lived in a very simple manner, left to the 
Board a legacy of one million dollars, without 
stipulating in what way the funds should be used. 
It was the largest amount which had been given to 
any mission board, whether home or foreign, and 
it made a profound impression. However, there 
was danger that our board might be considered so 
rich as to be able to carry on its enterprises, for 
some time at least, with the help of smaller contri- 
butions than before from the churches; with the 
unfortunate result of an impoverished treasury, 
curtailment of the widely extended work, and 
spiritual loss to the churches themselves through 
the checking of the stream of their unselfish benef- 
icence. Therefore was it determined not to keep 
any part of the immense bequest, but rather to ex- 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 77 

pend it as fast as could be done without waste- 
fulness, and without starting so many new enter- 
prises that it might be difficult to support them 
afterward by means of receipts through the ordi- 
nary channels. According to this decision the 
newly acquired resources were divided into three 
parts : one for strengthening the evangelistic work 
of existing missions, another for enlarging edu- 
cational enterprises, and the third for establishing 
new missions. Under this arrangement were begun 
our missions in East Central Africa, West Central 
Africa, Northern Japan and Northern Mexico. 
Subsequently, when all of the legacy had been ex- 
pended, the last two missions were consolidated 
with those already existing in the countries named. 
By this time there had been realized from interest, 
dividends, and premiums above the par value of 
the gilt-edge securities left by Mr. Otis, an addi- 
tional third of a million dollars. 

The proposal by Dr. Clark started a ferment 
in my mind. Here was a third and probably the last 
call to service in another country ; first China, then 
Japan, and now Mexico. The last offered the un- 
usual combination of both home and foreign mis- 
sionary work, because so many of our own coun- 
trymen were crowding over the border to engage 
in various lines of business, some of them taking 
their families with them. Then the newness of it 
all made a special appeal ; it was interesting to be 
in a sense a pioneer and a founder. Libraries 
were searched for books that would throw light 



78 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

upon my new problem, especially those treating 
of the relations between our own country and her 
next door neighbor on the south. The farther my 
investigations were pursued, the more did they 
serve to enlist my sympathies with the plan sug- 
gested by the foreign secretary. Events rapidly 
succeeded one another ; and by April, 1882, we had 
enlisted for the service, and I was on my way to 
the southwest, provided with a pass over the line 
of the Santa Fe, and with another obtained from 
Thomas Nickerson, the first president of the Mexi- 
can Central, at his office in Boston, which said: 
'^Pass James D. Eaton from Paso del Norte to end 
of track and return.'' 

In those days El Paso, Texas, was a raw fron- 
tier settlement, called by some persons *' Frank- 
lin'' to distinguish it from the more important 
town on the south side of the Eio Grande. It had 
but few well-defined streets, upon which were 
located some small frame and brick buildings scat- 
tered among structures of adobe. There was a 
low building of one story on the west side of El 
Paso Street, with perhaps a score of pillars sup- 
porting the roof of its long porch. The Presby- 
terian minister told me that for every one of those 
pillars a man had been killed on the street or in 
the saloons ; and that the town had a marshal who 
was so quick on the trigger that he could make 
effective use of a revolver in each hand at the 
same time, shooting disturbers of the public order 
before they could get him. He showed me a sand 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 79 

lot where shortly before, under the shelter of a 
tent, ministers of several different denominations 
had held preaching services in turn. But one of 
them, ^^ Parson Tays," had constructed a frame 
chapel for the Episcopalians, and another had 
done the same for the Southern Methodists, 

Lodging was found in a one-story hotel whose 
unplastered walls consisted of rough boards nailed 
perpendicularly, but with the cracks between them 
so imperfectly covered with battens that when the 
wind was blowing, as it seemed to do for most of 
the time, the fine sand and dust sifted inside so 
rapidly that it was difficult to keep it out of the 
beds and the food. When guests came into the 
dining room for their meals, the first thing they 
did usually was to lift their chairs and blow the 
dust from them before seating themselves at the 
table. 

The Rev. John A. Merrill was expecting the 
arrival that very day of their synodical missionary 
to assist in the organization of the First Presby- 
terian Church on the following morning, Sunday, 
April 16, 1882 ; but having in mind the uncertainty 
in those days of railway connections in Texas, he 
said to me: ^^If Dr. Little should not get here, 
you will have to take his place. ' ' What he feared 
as a possibility did take place, and he turned to me 
for help. The pastor of the Southern Methodist 
Church lent his building for the occasion and as- 
sisted in the devotional part of the service. There 
were assigned to me the sermon, which had for its 



80 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

text, ^^If we walk in the light as He is in the light, 
we have fellowship one with another,'' and the 
prayer of organization, which was offered after 
Mr. Merrill had read the names of twenty-seven 
persons who wished to unite in forming the new 
chnrch, and had directed their act of covenanting 
together in accordance with the impressive ritual 
of that denomination. 

Twenty-five years after that event, when the 
church had had in succession seven pastors, and 
was beginning to erect a new and more commo- 
dious house of worship on East Boulevard, the 
session invited me to come from Chihuahua and 
give a historical address at the celebration of their 
quarter-centennial. The invitation was conveyed 
in a letter from their minister who wrote: ^^You 
are the only person we can get hold of who knows 
anything about the organization of this church, 
and the official records of the early days have been 
lost." After diligent search among the accumu- 
lated memoranda of many years, I found the small 
blank book in which had been written with pen and 
ink several pages descriptive of early experiences 
in El Paso, and carried it with me to the border 
city. "When, at a certain point in my discourse, 
that book was produced from my pocket and I read 
from it most of those paragraphs, including the 
story of the formation of their church, it was ac- 
corded a hearing which was almost breathless. 
It seemed to those present as if the long lost record 
book itself had been recovered for that notable 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 81 

anniversary. At the close of the address the pas- 
tor requested that any person in the crowded 
house who might have witnessed the organization 
of the church, aside from the speaker of the morn- 
ing, should rise. But no one responded to the in- 
vitation, so many had been the changes through 
the years. 

The only means of transportation south of the 
border was a freight train, the last box car of which 
served as a caboose. Into this were packed twenty 
passengers (including an ex-governor of Chi- 
huahua, his wife and two pretty daughters, bound 
for San Jose), all the luggage, quarters of beef, 
dozens of brooms, and other goods destined for 
points along the line. One of the American pas- 
sengers was going to the state capital to take the 
place of a man who had been in charge of the gaso- 
line street lamps w^hich had been installed recently 
in that city, but who had fallen from his horse 
to the stone pavement suffering concussion of the 
brain, and was reported to be in a dying condition. 
This gentleman was to leave the train at San Jose, 
seventy-five miles out, and there take the Mexican 
stage through to his destination, and he advised 
me to do the same. In this he was seconded by 
another gentleman, a Bostonian, who was on his 
way to inspect some silver mines in which he was 
interested. But my pass read, ^Ho end of track 
and return"; and means of transportation might 
be found beyond that point, Gallego, thirty miles 
more to Laguna, through which village the stage 



82 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

would pass. At the worst I could return to San 
Jose and take the next ^ ' diligencia. " So it was 
decided to stick to the slow freight, which required 
eighteen hours to cover the hundred and thirty-five 
miles. On the way we passed the lonely grave of 
a civil engineer, who not long before had been 
killed in a horrible manner by Apache Indians 
from the San Carlos Eeservation in Arizona. At 
the end of the track was found a little collection 
of white tents that furnished shelter and food for 
the men working on the grade, the first of a succes- 
sion of similar camps to be encountered at inter- 
vals along the right of way. 

By inquiry was discovered a man who had come 
from Laguna in a lumber wagon for the purpose 
of meeting his employer, a contractor for a section 
of the grading, who was expected to come with us 
from El Paso bringing supplies for their camp; 
but sudden illness had detained the latter at the 
border. It was arranged with the driver to trans- 
port four of us to his camp at the lake. All of the 
men had a rough exterior but were kind at heart, 
as one of them showed in a practical way before 
we had traveled far in the blazing sun; for he 
climbed over the back of his seat by the driver, 
(under which were springs), and said abruptly 
to me : ^ ^ You get up here. ' ' ' ^ I do not want to take 
your seat,^' was my reply with courteous intent. 
Like a flash came the rejoinder, ^^You couldn't 
take it; I give it to you.'' True enough, for he 
had a revolver stuck in his belt of cartridges, and 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 83 

held a rifle besides. That emphatic declaration 
of the stranger who settled himself down on the 
springless bed of the wagon, illuminated the situa- 
tion prevailing in one region of the frontier. By 
sunset w:e reached the lake and a sort of inn which 
provided supper and a bed without springs ; but 
its hardness did not prevent the tired tenderfoot 
from falling into a sound sleep. At midnight was 
heard a great hubbub before the door ; dogs bark- 
ing, harness rattling, and men talking. They were 
changing the mules of the diligence w^hich had 
arrived from San Jose and would soon be speeding 
on toward the city of Chihuahua. In a half stupor 
I stumbled out into the courtyard and encountered 
the two gentlemen who had advised me to leave 
the freight train for greater certainty of reach- 
ing our common destination, but who had ar- 
rived six hours behind me, and after more than 
a hundred miles of expensive travel by coach. 

At sunrise we stopped for a fresh team of six 
mules and breakfast at Sauz, one of the haciendas 
of Don Luis Terrazas who had won the title of 
General in his successful campaign against the 
French soldiers who were supporting the preten- 
sions of the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian and had 
occupied the capital city. Don Luis was governor 
of the state at the time of our arrival, having held 
that office for more than fifteen years. He had ac- 
quired title to many square miles of the fertile 
valleys which we had been traversing, and over 



84 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

them roamed vast herds of cattle and horses and 
numerous flocks of sheep. 

Passing through Nombre de Dios we saw the 
old church built by the Franciscan friars when 
they founded their first mission to the Indians in 
this region ; and at noon the wheels of our coach, 
rattling over the cobblestone pavement of Chi- 
huahua, made a noise that seemed redoubled as it 
was echoed from the near walls of the buildings 
of stone and adobe which lined the long streets. 
We arrived at the central plaza, on which fronted 
the cathedral, the city hall, several banks and other 
places of business, and stopped at the American 
House. Here we received an uproarious welcome 
from a group of our countrymen who greeted us as 
if we were long lost relatives of theirs. Very puz- 
zling was a demonstration of that sort, until we 
learned of a rumor which had gained currency, 
to the effect that the triweekly diligence from San 
Jose had been robbed, the mules stolen, and the 
passengers killed, by the Apache savages who 
were known to be engaged at that very time in one 
of their destructive raids from their reservation 
in Arizona across the Mexican border. Confirma- 
tion of the sensational story seemed to be given by 
the fact that our coach was hours behind the usual 
time of arrival. 

In the afternoon the man who had fallen from 
his horse nine days before, and had been nursed 
day and night by kind countrymen, breathed his 
last, having been unconscious for most of the time. 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 85 

These friends were glad to learn that a minister 
had come to town that very day; and they lost 
no time in asking him to conduct the funeral ser- 
vice the next morning. It was held in the large 
room in which the man had died. Some of his 
clothing was still hanging from nails driven into 
the wall ; and on table and bureau were various ar- 
ticles of use or ornament ; while through the open 
door of an adjoining room we could see a stock 
of street lamps and other material connected with 
his late business. There had crowded into the 
place between fifty and sixty Americans, all men 
of course, while many curious natives peered in 
at the door and windows. At the head of the pine 
coflfin which had been painted black, with narrow 
lines of white to relieve in part the somberness, 
I stood to read some portions of Scripture, give 
a brief talk, and offer a prayer whose closing amen 
was echoed by the bass voices of some who had 
not attended a religious service of any kind for 
years. Six Mexican peons lifted the dark burden 
to their shoulders, and we formed a procession to 
show respect to the dead. Four countrymen 
walked at the head as a vanguard, three on each 
side as honorary bearers, while twenty policemen 
accompanied us because the deceased had been con- 
nected with the lighting of the streets under a con- 
tract with the city government. Along the middle 
of the street in the hot sun we walked to the ceme- 
tery gates, passed through them with bared heads, 
and committed the body to the ground, several of 



86 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the company following the minister's example in 
dropping earth upon the lowered coffin. 

The large attendance of men at the funeral and 
the knowledge that there were already living in 
the city a few American women encouraged me to 
arrange, one week later, for holding a service with 
sermon on Sunday afternoon (because all kinds 
of business were carried on as usual up to one 
o'clock on the Lord's Day), on the upstairs bal- 
cony facing the inner patio of the building on the 
main plaza. Captain Jack Crawford, who was 
widely known on the frontier, volunteered to give 
his help as my ' ^ warden, ' ' and he wrote and posted 
in prominent places notices of the novel proceed- 
ing, promised for half past four o'clock. One 
woman lent her large family Bible to lay upon the 
improvised pulpit ; and another furnished a lot of 
chairs, sending them by her mozo. These ladies 
came ; but we waited for the arrival of some of the 
men who had promised to attend. Something un- 
foreseen might have occurred to delay them. We 
waited and waited. Rather ominous was the sound 
of music by a large military band on the alameda, 
and the deserting of the streets in our vicinity 
by people who were attracted by the circus and the 
cock-fighting. At length one of the ladies re- 
marked that she would have to be excused soon 
in order to prepare supper; and the other was 
needed at home. It was too late to hold the ser- 
vice ; and so after prayer with them and two men 
besides Captain Crawford, we went our several 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 87 

ways. Later my warden informed me that he 
'^won the cigars'' over the result, although sorry 
for my disappointment. He added that many men 
will *^tell the parson white lies to save his feel- 
ings,'' and that if he himself were not tied to a 
mine, he would ' ' catch the first train back home to 
God 's country. ' ' Doubtless he had helped me with 
sincere good will; but he knew the prevailing senti- 
ment among his countrymen in regard to the claims 
of religion, and their reluctance to have ministers 
come to remind them of those claims, much better 
than did the newcomer who, however, did in time 
come to realize the true situation. 

More encouraging was my experience with the 
mayor, Don Juan N. Zubiran, a member of the 
liberal party, who had been intimately acquainted 
with the great Indian statesman, Benito Juarez, 
and who himself was of the Indian type in feature 
and color of skin. In excellent English he assured 
me that he would give cordial welcome to anyone 
who would help to educate the people in general, 
and inculcate religious principles that were 
friendly to freedom of thought and consequent 
liberation of men's minds from a slavish sub- 
jection to an ecclesiastical tyranny which had op- 
pressed the mass of his countrymen for centuries. 
He pledged himself to use all the power at his 
command to enforce the laws which guaranteed 
freedom of worship, and to defend against unfair 
treatment all who might wish to avail themselves 
of that promised freedom. 



88 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

During the two weeks of my stay I was able to 
gather much information concerning the climate 
of the region and conditions favorable to health 
or otherwise ; the prices of domestic and imported 
articles of food, clothing and furniture ; the lead- 
ing characteristics of the people and their probable 
attitude toward new religious teachings; also in 
regard to the distribution of population through- 
out the state, the relative importance of other 
towns, such as Parral, Santa Eosalia and Jimenez, 
and the lines of business in which their citizens 
were engaged. It was evident that to win a hearing 
for a simple gospel, gather adherents for a faith 
that should be unincumbered by the multiplied ac- 
cretions of ceremonial and superstitious practice, 
and in time establish a fellowship of self-gov- 
erning, self-supporting and self-propagating 
churches composed of men and women such as 
Mayor Zubiran described, who had suffered from 
the deadening influence of priestly domination 
during hundreds of years — to go no farther back 
than the Spanish Conquest — ^would not be a holi- 
day task. 

The return to El Paso was easier than the out- 
ward journey; for the ^^end of track'' was at 
Laguna station, a caboose carried us Gallego, and 
there we changed to a passenger train, covering 
the entire distance by rail in half the time which 
had been consumed before. Indeed, my itinerary 
provided for somewhat leisurely travel back to 
Boston, permitting stop-overs for four or five suc- 
cessive Sundays, all of which were fully utilized 



THE DOOR OPENS FOR FOREIGN SERVICE 89 

for addressing congregations in as many differ- 
ent states. Everywhere were the people eager to 
hear of some events connected with my exploring 
tour, and to learn of the new opportunity for help- 
ing in the development — materially, educationally 
and spiritually — of their neighbors on the south 
who were yet strangers to them, as foreign in 
language, religion and customs as most of the na- 
tions of Europe. 

The report of my investigations on the ground 
was made in person to the officials of the American 
Board at a regular meeting of the Prudential Com- 
mittee which was presided over by Alpheus Hardy, 
the patron of Joseph Hardy Neesima, the Jap- 
anese who had found his way to the coast of New 
England in one of the vessels belonging to the 
Boston merchant, was educated at Amherst and 
Andover, and returned to his own country to be- 
come the founder of the Doshisha at Kyoto. Al- 
though Dr. Ellinwood had suggested the advisa- 
bility of our making a beginning at Paso del Norte 
and tarrying at the border until the railroad 
should open up the country more fully, in a mea- 
sure preparing the people for so novel, and to 
many so unwelcome, an event as the advent of a 
Protestant missionary in Chihuahua, my own con- 
viction was that the state capital, which was at the 
same time the most populous city in the three 
northwestern states, offered the most strategic 
center for the work proposed; and it was voted 
unanimously to begin operations there in the au- 
tumn. 



CHAPTER VII 

A SUMMER OF PREPARATION 

It was proposed by the foreign secretary that 
we continue our residence in Andover through 
the summer, waiting for the cooler autumn in 
which to establish the new home below the inter- 
national border; and that in the meantime we 
begin the study of Spanish, endeavor to find a 
well equipped and congenial man to be associated 
with us, and make other preparations for insuring 
as far as possible an efficient undertaking of the 
new task. Several officials of the Mexican Central 
Railway already were receiving instruction in the 
language which their employees would need to 
learn, from General A. Ibarra, who was a native 
of Venezuela; and the same person was engaged 
to teach me at his residence in Boston. Imme- 
diately after each lesson I took the train for An- 
dover, and imparted to my wife what had been 
learned that day. Thus did we advance together 
along the new path of knowledge; and even the 
scant acquaintance with the native tongue of Cer- 
vantes, which was gained in that brief period of 
time, was of great value to us a little later, when 
religious prejudice tried to hedge up our way by 

90 



A SUMMER OF PREPARATION 91 

intimidating those who otherwise would have been 
willing to teach their own language to the new- 
comers. 

Among the students in the theological seminary- 
were several men who felt the force of the appeal 
for assistance in taking advantage of the new 
opening for Christian service; an opportunity 
which had been created by a combination of favor- 
ing circumstances, viz., on this side, the laying of 
plans by farseeing business men for providing 
a backward nation with transportation facilities 
and other means of material development, and on 
the other side, the efforts of a determined group 
of liberals to secure for their people a greater de- 
gree of intellectual and religious freedom, even 
to the extent of letting themselves appear to be 
the friends of Protestant missionaries. In- 
stances of this sympathetic attitude on the part of 
Mexican gentlemen who claimed to be freethinkers 
will be given in the course of this narrative of per- 
sonal experiences. Yet when it came to the point 
of making a final decision, no one of the gradua- 
ting class proved to be available for the new enter- 
prise. It was easier to get recruits to fill up the 
ranks of Christ's soldiers on fields across the seas, 
than it was to persuade men to take up the work 
so near home. 

The vacation season gave opportunity for ac- 
quainting a number of churches, whose pastors 
were away, with the interesting situation which 
had developed on the south. While the people 



92 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

wanted to have a sermon on Sunday morning, 
they were not averse to hearing a less formal ad- 
dress in the evening on a subject which was new 
to most of them ; and at the close some would come 
forward to express their interest, and would ask 
questions to elicit additional information. After 
such a talk in Park Street Church, Boston, among 
those who presented themselves was Mr. Fred- 
erick A. Ober, traveler and author of a number of 
popular books, who was then seeing through the 
press his Young Folks' History of Mexico. After 
giving me his name, he turned to introduce a Mexi- 
can gentleman; and I had an uncomfortable mo- 
ment of suspense, thinking that the latter might 
take exception to some of the statements which had 
been made concerning his country and its inhabi- 
tants. But my apprehensions were groundless; 
for both gentlemen assured me that my represen- 
tations were correct. The following year Mr. Ober 
visited Chihuahua, and was introduced by me to a 
wealthy citizen who was led to donate to the Smith- 
sonian Institution in Washington, for which the 
former was making collections, valuable specimens 
of ancient pottery from Casas Grrandes. 

Speaking in the South Church at Andover, I 
was introduced to the librarian of the Boston Pub- 
lic Library. He expressed great interest in what 
had been said, but gave me an unpleasant surprise 
by suggesting that it would be better to find some 
other man to go in my place and undertake the 
difficult and, to him, uncongenial task of ^ drying 



A SUMMER OF PREPARATION 93 

to reform those Mexicans.'^ How different was 
his point of view from the one to which I had long 
been accustomed! Among the books read in my 
childhood were biographies of missionaries whose 
work was done ; but other men who were still very- 
much alive had visited in the family, and I had re- 
garded them with admiration and reverence. My 
grandfather had helped to educate Dr. Peter 
Parker who is still referred to as the one **who 
opened China with his lancet. ^^ In college and 
seminary I had been stirred deeply by the appeals 
of Crosby H. Wheeler, J. K. Greene, Luther H. 
Gulick, Josiah Tyler and Titus Coan. Who would 
be worthy to follow in their train? Not I. 

Also it was my privilege to get information and 
inspiration from men and women who had per- 
sonal acquaintance with Mexico and her people — 
their achievements and their needs. One of those 
memorable interviews was had with Dr. William 
Butler and his wife, then making their home in 
Somerville and who, after founding and nurturing 
for many years the mission of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church in India, returned to this continent 
and became the pioneers of the great work of 
their denomination in Mexico. Dr. Butler's book, 
*^ Mexico in Transition, ' ' is still of value to all 
who would trace the course of events that point 
toward the social, moral and religious regenera- 
tion of that country. 

It was worth much to have an intimate talk in 
New York with Judge Helf enstein, the principal 



94 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

owner of the famous iron mountain in the state of 
Durango. He was a Christian and a sincere friend 
of the Mexicans, quick to recognize their many fine 
qualities, and had often knelt with them in their 
churches, although he did not pay reverence to the 
pictures and images found there. He advised me 
to avoid as far as possible religious controversy, 
make the most of the people 's reverence for what 
they held to be sacred, and set forth positive 
spiritual truth, in confident expectation that by 
degrees the good would give place to the better, 
and that this in turn would point the way to the 
best, liberating many from bondage to error and 
sin. 

Another interesting personality was discovered 
in the city of Brooklyn, New York, a lady who had 
been governess in the family of the liberator 
Benito Juarez almost up to the time of his death 
which had occurred only ten years before our con- 
versation together, and whose prolonged residence 
in the home of the President of the Mexican Ee- 
public had made her familiar with many features 
of the life of the influential classes at the capital. 

But the most inspiring of all the interviews was 
the one granted to me by the foreign secretary of 
the Presbyterian Board of Missions, Dr. F. F. 
EUinwood, who had recently returned from a visit 
to Mexico City, and who showed photographs of 
a number of the leading preachers he had met, the 
encouraging fruits of ten years of missionary 
effort. He was full of enthusiasm over the promis- 



A SUMMER OF PREPARATION 95 

ing outlook for evangelical undertakings there, 
and remarked that one did not have to be an in- 
spired prophet to foresee a religious reformation 
in that country, and that it would be a high priv- 
ilege for one to have even a small part in ushering 
in a brighter day for our neighbor, Mexico. On his 
voyage to Vera Cruz he became acquainted with 
an elderly gentleman of high rank in the Mexican 
army, who made the frank statement that, al- 
though he himself had been baptized in the Roman 
Catholic Church and expected to continue in that 
communion, he would welcome an effort to build 
in his own country a Protestant house of worship 
alongside of every cathedral and parish church of 
the ancient order, for the sake of the elevating 
influence upon the latter of that kind of compe- 
tition. 

Dr. EUinwood had already given assurance to 
Dr. Clark that if we opened work in Chihuahua, 
the Presbyterians, who had a flourishing station 
in Zacatecas and had made a beginning in Du- 
rango (which joins the first-named state on the 
south), would respect our occupancy and avoid 
any appearance of rivalry in Christian work. Our 
secretary also wrote to Theodore Frelinghuysen, 
Secretary of State under the administration of 
President Chester A. Arthur, setting forth the 
plans of our board; and through that influential 
medium he got into communication with the Mexi- 
can Minister at Washington, Seiior Matias Ro- 
mero, who was known to be a man of liberal views. 



96 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

The specific end in view was to obtain authority 
for the shipping into Mexico without payment of 
customs charges, (as was occasionally allowed in 
the matter of importing school supplies), of house- 
keeping outfits for two missionary families; one 
of them to go to Guadalajara, and the other 
of course my own. Mr. Romero was ready to 
favor, so far as his official position would permit, 
the plans for education and evangelism as ex- 
plained to him by our Secretary of State ; and in 
due time he reported to our Government that the 
President of Mexico (who was General Manuel 
Gonzalez), did not feel at liberty to ask the Con- 
gress to pass a law granting the exemption de- 
sired, because such an act would be in contraven- 
tion of the principle of religious equality estab- 
lished by means of the federal constitution; but 
that he would see to it that the collectors of the 
ports of entry at Vera Cruz and Paso del Norte 
received orders to admit the effects of those two 
families free of duty. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA IN THE YEAR 
1882 AND AFTER 

One of the builders of the Mexican Central re- 
marked to me that the construction of that rail- 
way was like a new Declaration of Independence 
for the Mexicans. He meant this to be taken in an 
economic sense; for he went on to explain that 
great numbers of common laborers who had been 
receiving the merest pittance in exchange for their 
toil, were now earning good wages which would 
enable them to provide better food and clothing 
for their families. But his remark was also true 
in the sense that the opening of a highway connect- 
ing the two countries would bring the backward 
people into business and social relations with the 
strong, progressive nation on their northern bor- 
der, thus introducing them to a new world and 
arousing within them new ideas of personal and 
political freedom. 

During a period of about thirty years after she 
lost to the United States nearly one-half of her 
territory, Mexico pursued a policy shaped to 
guard herself from further encroachments by the 
nation to which was given by many of the writers 

97 



98 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

for her newspapers the name, ^^The Colossus of 
the North.'' She established along our border a 
zone twenty leagues in width, within which no 
American citizen might purchase land, unless he 
obtained a special permit from the national gov- 
ernment to do this. The only railway she allowed 
to be constructed was one to connect her capital 
with the seaport of Vera Cruz, and that was built 
and owned by an English company. There was a 
strong sentiment against the establishment of too 
easy communication with the United States; and 
the desert of sand and sagebrush which extended 
for so many miles from the Eio Grande furnished 
a means of defense against the approach of a pos- 
sible enemy from that quarter almost as effective 
as a line of military fortifications would have 
been. 

In the year 1876, President Lerdo, having re- 
ceived the votes of two-thirds of the members of 
the electoral college, was declared elected for a 
second term. But before the date for the inaug- 
uration in December, there was started a revo- 
lution for his overthrow by General Porfirio Diaz 
who had distinguished himself in the campaign 
for resisting the invasion by the French army 
which had been sent by Louis Napoleon to sup- 
port the pretensions of the Austrian Archduke 
Maximilian to an emperor's throne. The slogan 
adopted for the revolution was ^^No Election 
for a Second Term," and the movement gained 
such headway that the President feared for 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 99 

his life and fled for refuge to the United States. 
In the spring General Diaz took the reins of gov- 
ernment, about the same time that President 
Eutherford B. Hayes was inaugurated at Wash- 
ington; but the latter 's administration did not rec- 
ognize the former as the lawful president of 
Mexico until after he had maintained himself in 
power for a considerable period of time. 

In 1880 General Diaz retired from the chief 
magistracy, in apparent consistency with the prin- 
ciple he had fought for ; but he took care that he 
should be succeeded in the presidency by a mem- 
ber of his cabinet, the General Gonzalez who was 
referred to in the last chapter, and during the 
latter 's incumbency the former was generally re- 
garded as the power behind the throne. There- 
fore he may fairly be credited with the govern- 
ment's change of attitude shown in the voting by 
the federal congress of a substantial subsidy to in- 
sure the construction of a trunk line of railway 
between Mexico City and Paso del Norte, a dis- 
tance of twelve hundred and twenty-five miles. 
The work was carried on from each end, as in the 
case of the building of the Union Pacific and the 
Central Pacific railway s after our Civil War, mate- 
rial for the southern end being transported over 
the English road from Vera Cruz, and that for the 
other being brought by the Santa Fe ; with the re- 
sult that early in the year 1884 the two sections 
were joined near Lagos, and trains began to run 
through from each terminus, consisting of coaches 



100 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

for the accommodation of first, second and third 
class passengers, besides the Pullman cars which 
in effect provided for an extra class. 

But in November, 1882, there was no palace car 
attached to our train from the border, which had 
one coach filled with soldiers to protect us from the 
Apaches. It was a weary ride for our party of 
five in dust and discomfort through an entire day. 
There were the four-year-old Howard, and his 
baby brother of three months, and the wife's sister 
who had come with us to help her in the care of the 
little ones while we should be making some kind 
of a home in a strange land and getting our bear- 
ings for the new work. Arrived at our destination 
after nightfall, we were carried in a public hack to 
a Mexican hotel which became our shelter for 
several weeks. The aspect of the streets and build- 
ings by moonlight reminded the tired wife and 
mother of her acquaintance in previous years with 
cities in Italy; and thus the unwonted scene was 
brightened a bit for us as we beheld it through 
a halo of romance. But the searching light of day 
revealed many things which wore no charm for 
us, and we might easily have become unhappy 
through thinking of what we could not have. 
However, we determined to make the best of what 
was within reach, which was so much more than 
can be found by the devoted men and women who 
volunteer for service in savage or only partly 
civilized countries. 
In the center of the main plaza was a fountain 




:.» 



siil 



Governor Don Miguel Ahumada 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 101 

and large basin of water to which women carried 
earthen jars to be filled, and to which householders 
living in the near vicinity sent their menservants 
with small barrels slnng from a pole that rested 
on their shoulders. In order to supply families 
at a greater distance, two-wheeled carts, which 
were fitted up with a sort of giant tub to hold the 
precious liquid, were driven from door to door and 
the contents offered for sale at the rate of two 
buckets for a cent and a half. There were no 
sewers, and the only way for disposing of waste 
water was to sprinkle it over the pavement in the 
court of the house or on the street outside, and 
leave it for the sun to dry up. Soiled clothing was 
taken to the river to be washed and spread out 
on the ground or clumps of bushes to dry. Street 
cleaning was accomplished by means of a munic- 
ipal ordinance which required the occupants of 
each house to sweep the part in front of it out to 
the middle of the street, after having sprinkled 
the same to avoid raising the dust, and to leave 
the sweepmgs in little heaps (to which were added 
any garbage from the kitchen), for the scavengers 
to cart away and dump in the outskirts of the city, 
where the accumulated filth became a menace to 
the public health. 

When Colonel Miguel Ahumada became gover- 
nor, which ofl&ce he held for a period of ten years, 
one of the first things he did was to make the water 
supply accessible to the entire population. There 
was already in existence a fine aqueduct of stone, 



102 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

dating back for a hundred and fifty years or more, 
which took water from the ' ' salto ' ' or fall, three 
miles up the Chubiscar river, and brought it to the 
edge of the town. There he caused to be built res- 
ervoirs for storing and purifying the water, and 
modern pipes to be laid for conducting the same 
to all sections of the city and into all places of resi- 
dence or business requiring such service, and at 
moderate rates. The governor told me that he 
introduced the water without making provision for 
sewerage, because the taxpayers would object to 
the great expense of installing both systems; 
whereas if he furnished the water desired, the very 
abundance of it would make evident to all the ne- 
cessity of some provision for disposing of it after 
it had been used. The correctness of his position 
was proved by the outcome ; for very soon public 
sentiment demanded further relief, and he con- 
tracted with certain Americans to install a modern 
system of sewerage. 

In order to raise revenue for the support of 
government — federal, state and municipal — there 
were levied all sorts of taxes. Stamp taxes 
affected everybody, even the multitudes who 
owned no real estate nor any personal property 
which was worth mentioning. Stamps had to be 
affixed not only to checks and drafts, but to every 
kind of receipt, to all contracts, to title deeds, 
to mortgages, upon every leaf of every book of 
accounts which might possibly have to be pre- 
sented for inspection in a justice's court in the 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 103 

settlement of a claim, and upon a large printed 
sheet which had to be hung up to public view in 
every place which offered for sale articles of any 
description, the sum of the stamps depending upon 
the amount of the sales as indicated by the books 
of account. Taxes on real estate were levied in 
moderate amount, to which twenty-five per cent 
was added in behalf of the federal government. 
In addition to all of the foregoing, there was 
the old system of alcabalas which had been intro- 
duced from European countries, and by which im- 
posts were levied upon every article of merchan- 
dise brought into the city. For the collection of 
these imposts, there were located garitas or tiny 
custom houses on the roads leading into the town. 
Near these were stationed guards to prevent the 
entrance by night, when the garita was closed, 
of any sort of merchandise. Eanchmen must pay 
a tax on their cartloads of beans, corn, melons or 
squashes. Every milkman was obliged to make 
a daily payment according to the size and number 
of earthen jars or tin cans which he introduced. 
Every donkey load of straw or of sticks of fire- 
wood had to pay a trifling tax. 

When our household goods arrived, we gained 
a vivid experience of the old system ; for besides 
the federal duties imposed at the border custom 
house, and an additional levy by the state into 
which we had come, we had to pay again for the 
support of the municipal government. For in- 
stance, on my previous visit for investigation it 



104 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

had been learned that the retail price of kerosene 
oil was about $2.00 a gallon in our money. Con- 
sequently there was purchased in Boston as a 
part of our outfit, a barrel of it for about $7.00. 
The import duty was about $15.00, the state 
collected nearly $2.00, and the municipal impost 
was practically the same as the federal; or a 
total of $32.00. The sequel of the story is that 
the inexperienced importer did not realize that 
in so dry a climate the barrel staves would 
shrink, and so failed to procure tin receptacles 
to guard the contents. Consequently the greater 
part of the kerosene leaked out, and for the re- 
mainder he actually paid more than the local 
dealers would have demanded. 

Among our goods was a reed organ which had 
been donated by the American Organ Company for 
the use of the new mission ; and a piano which had 
been given by a relative of Mrs. Eaton for her 
own use. The two instruments together had been 
listed at the border custom house to pay a duty 
of moderate amount, less than the government of 
the United States would have collected at the port 
of Boston on imports of like value from Europe. 
The addition of the small state impost made the 
sum about $150.00. But the city tax was only $2.00 
to $3.00. The poorer classes could not purchase 
pianos or organs; but they had to have coal oil 
with which to light their humble dwellings, or limit 
themselves to candles. When an officer of govern- 
ment called at the house to inspect the boxes, bar- 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 105 

rels and crates of our belongings, to see that they 
agreed with the items on the custom house mani- 
fest, I ventured to refer to the apparent discrim- 
ination in favor of citizens and residents who 
were in comparatively comfortable circumstances. 

While the man did not seem to sympathize with 
the criticism, he could not deny the logic of my 
deduction. 

It may be asked by the reader of this narrative, 
why there should have been required any payment 
of charges by the federal government at the cus- 
tom house on the border, when the Mexican Minis- 
ter had promised that the personal effects of the 
missionary would be admitted free of duty. When 
the goods of the latter arrived at Paso del Norte, 
the collector of the port had not yet received the 
promised order from headquarters; but in view 
of the documents from Washington which were 
shown to him, he did not hesitate to instruct his 
subordinates to release the goods for immediate 
shipment to their destination in the interior. How- 
ever, for his own protection he felt obliged to re- 
quire the execution of a bond, by the terms of 
which the usual duties should be paid at the end 
of three months if by that time no instructions 
were received from Mexico City. The bond was 
signed by a leading merchant of El Paso who felt 
confident that in the end there would be no disap- 
pointment of our expectations. But through some 
oversight or misunderstanding the anticipated 
order was never received. Very likely the govern- 



106 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ment itself was expecting further notification from 
the American Board or its humble representative 
or from the collector of the port, before issuing 
the necessary order. 

In the year 1882 the postage on an ordinary 
letter was twenty-five cents, the same that our 
fathers had to pay a century ago. Under those 
circumstances a good deal could be saved by carry- 
ing one's letters to El Paso and posting them 
there, if one had occasion to visit the border city. 
When the rate was reduced to ten cents, where it 
remained for some years before coming down to 
five cents, a similar economy was possible, though 
in less degree. In those days the post office at 
the capital of the state was lighted with candles, 
and the few individual boxes were made of wood. 
When an American presented himself at the one 
window to inquire if there was a letter for himself, 
the courteous postmaster would hand out the 
whole bunch of letters addressed to foreigners, 
and wait for him to look them over and take what 
belonged to himself. But carriers were employed 
to deliver mail matter addressed to residences or 
places of business. When the triweekly mail from 
the United States arrived at the close of day and 
had been distributed, the letters for foreigners 
were at once turned over to some one of the group 
waiting in the lobby, usually the editor of the 
English-Spanish weekly newspaper, who read in a 
loud voice the names he found written on the 
envelopes ; and when any man in the crowd sung 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 107 

out ^^Here/^ the letter was passed to him, some- 
times through the hands of several others. 

Although all this seemed very primitive, the 
Mexico of that day in some respects was already 
in advance of our own country. It had adopted 
the metrical system of weights and measures for 
use in all the custom houses and post offices ; and 
within a few years from that time the simple and 
labor-saving method was made obligatory in all 
transactions. Then it was no longer possible to 
buy a vara of cloth (nearly a yard), nor an arroha 
of sugar (twenty-five pounds), nor to purchase 
farming lands or city lots, according to the old 
measurement. To attempt such a thing rendered 
the violator of the law liable to arrest and punish- 
ment. From the first the railroads built by Ameri- 
cans adopted the same system; and they found 
that it saved so much of the time of the freight 
clerks in making out bills of lading, and in other 
ways, as to result in a large economy in operating 
expenses. 

Postal rates on printed matter were so fixed as 
to promote general education. All such matter 
was carried at a lower charge than is the case 
with us. Text-books for the use of pupils in the 
primary and grammar grades were transported at 
a rate that seemed little more than nominal. Our 
authors and publishers would find it very conve- 
nient to have the postal service carry manuscripts 
for publication, and corrected proof sheets as 
well, at the rate of one cent Mexican for 100 grams, 



108 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

or more than three ounces. All missionary propa- 
ganda that was carried on by means of the printed 
page, or through the maintenance of elementary 
school instruction, was greatly aided by this en- 
lightened policy of the government. Its mail car- 
riers, who in the mountainous regions of that state 
were often Indians toiling up steep trails under 
the weight of heavy sacks on their backs, trans- 
ported Bibles and Testaments, other printed 
books, and tracts at an expense far less than 
would have been incurred in our own land. 

After a time the vexing alcahalas, which were 
found to be a serious hindrance to commerce be- 
tween the states and even among the cities of any 
one state, were abolished; and measures were 
taken to protect the railroads from any interfer- 
ence by bandits with the running of their trains. 
A very drastic law was enacted whereby anybody 
was authorized to shoot at sight individuals who 
might be discovered attempting to obstruct their 
passage or rob travelers. The result was that 
highway robbery became very infrequent; and 
after the incursions of Apaches from Arizona 
ceased, there was no longer any occasion for the 
trains to carry armed guards. 

The raids of the redskins had become so fre- 
quent and galling, causing the destruction of both 
life and property, that the state government 
offered a reward of $250 for every scalp of a war- 
rior which might be brought in. On Sunday, the 
twenty-fifth of February, 1883, just before the 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 109 

hour of our English, service, word was passed 
around that the authorities would do honor to 
certain men who had volunteered to go on that 
strange kind of a hunt and had been so successful 
that they had returned bringing with them sixteen 
of the ghastly trophies. The natural desire of 
Americans to witness so rare a ceremony left me 
with scarcely anybody to preach to ; but I learned 
afterward that the victors were welcomed on the 
outskirts of the city, and decorated with ribbons 
suitably inscribed, and addressed with speeches 
of congratulation. Then they marched in proces- 
sion around the main plaza carrying aloft on poles 
the scalps they had taken, the one who was re- 
garded as the greatest hero of all being a boy in 
his early teens who had two. 

On Monday morning we went to the women's 
jail to visit the Apache prisoners, wives and chil- 
dren of the slain warriors, who had been brought 
in by the victors. They were a desolate looking 
company; and I could not speak a word of their 
language. Most of the children were given to 
Mexican families to serve as domestics, while the 
youngest with their mothers were transported to 
a region farther south, whence it would be impos- 
sible for them to find their way back to the reser- 
vation in the United States. 

At that time there existed a friendly agreement 
between the authorities on both sides of the inter- 
national boundary, that whenever a military force 
from the United States might be pursuing Apaches 



110 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

*^on a hot trail/' it need not halt at the border, 
but was at liberty to continue over it into Mexico ; 
and vice versa, a force of Mexicans in pursuit of 
the same Indians should be allowed to enter our 
country, without regard to boundary lines. There 
was good reason for the making of such a conces- 
sion on our part, in view of the fact that those 
savages, who in their forays robbed and killed 
Mexicans, were our wards, for whose hostile ac- 
tion we might justly have been held responsible. 
But of course the Mexicans were not in a position 
to enforce any demands of that kind. At one 
time our troops reached a point three hundred 
miles south of the border in the state of Sonora, 
where they surprised a camp of Chief Geronimo. 
Finally in 1886, on the fourth of September, this 
chieftain in company with Naiche, the son of 
Cochise, surrended to General Nelson A. Miles at 
Skeleton Canyon, which was a natural route from 
Mexico to Arizona, along which both Apaches and 
our troops had often passed and repassed. The 
scene of the surrender and of the erection of a 
mound of rough stones, ten feet in diameter and 
six feet high, to confirm the treaty there made, is a 
few miles north of the Mexican boundary. The 
event brought us a deep sense of relief; for at 
times during the four years since our taking up 
residence in the state, there had been a feeling 
of uncertainty as to whether we ourselves might 
not be in danger of surprise by the wily enemy. 
That there was ground for such feeling of appre- 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 111 

hension became clear afterwards when our wider 
acquaintance with residents of settlements scat- 
tered over the state disclosed persons who vividly 
recalled those troublous times, when the men dared 
not go into the hills to cut firewood except in com- 
panies of considerable size for mutual protection, 
because some of their neighbors and relatives had 
been ambushed and slain. 

At the time of our advent each member of the 
police force carried a rifle and a revolver, with 
the addition at night of a lantern. Some of the 
Americans humorously suggested that probably 
the light was for the purpose of letting the rogues 
see where the guardian of public order was, so 
as to be able to avoid him ! More likely the lan- 
tern was designed to aid the officer in his investi- 
gation of dark and suspicious-looking corners, or 
in searching a house or store whose door might 
have been found unlocked ; and incidentally to ad- 
vertise the fact that he was ^^on the job." Often 
when the officer was standing still on his beat, 
the lantern was placed in the middle of the street, 
especially at the intersection of two thorough- 
fares. And all through the night, when the cathe- 
dral clock struck the hours and the quarters, the 
weird sound of the policeman's whistle would be 
heard; and to listening ears the signal seemed to 
say ^^AlPs well.'' 

In addition to the police, the city was garrisoned 
by a considerable military force representing all 
arms of the service. Usually there was a regiment 



112 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of cavalry, a battalion of infantry and a few can- 
non of small caliber. The ranks were not full ; for 
there were small detachments of troops stationed 
at points scattered over the state. But at patriotic 
celebrations held in the theater, looking down from 
a vantage point in one of the balconies, I have 
counted as many as fifty officers in uniform. There 
was always a brigadier general in command. Each 
regiment or battalion had its own band of at least 
thirty-five musicians ; and how the rather slouchy- 
looking men did play ! There were opportunities 
to hear them several times a week, either in front 
of their barracks or in one of the parks, by day 
or in the evening. 

"When he encouraged the building of the Mexi- 
can Central, and later of other lines of railway, 
General Diaz doubtless had in mind not only the 
economic development of the country, but also the 
strengthening of the power of the federal govern- 
ment and the welding of the several states into a 
closer union. Before the era of quick communi- 
cation between the capital and the more distant 
provinces, it required two or three months to 
transport a small army and its supplies from 
Mexico City to Chihuahua, a distance of a thou- 
sand miles. Consequently a revolution in that 
border state might bring about a change of admin- 
istration before federal soldiers could reach the 
scene of disturbance ; but when they could be trans- 
ported in a couple of days, the situation was very 
different. 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 113 

There were three kinds of money in circulation : 
first, silver coins ; second, paper money issued by 
the local banks, of the denominations of 25 cents, 
50 cents and $1.00, and handed out by the tellers 
in packets of one hundred bills, which were often 
accepted without being counted, and which cir- 
culated at a discount of eight per cent as compared 
with specie ; and bills of banks in different parts 
of the republic, principally of those located in 
Mexico City. The bills issued in some other states 
were of different values, in terms of silver, the 
market price often depending on the cost of trans- 
porting the silver from the location of the bank 
to where the paper promise was accepted. Along- 
side of the silver coins issued in accordance with 
the decimal system, were still circulated many 
pieces of the old coinage, such as reals having a 
value of twelve and a half cents, and half reals. 
Then there were the copper tlacos, with the face 
value of one-quarter of a real. But these had de- 
preciated in value, perhaps through the enormous 
quantity which had been coined, and passed for 
only one-eighth of a real. 

In 1882 the Mexican silver dollar was discounted 
ten per cent in comparison with one of our own 
coinage, although the weight of the former slightly 
exceeded that of the latter. At the end of ten 
years it was quoted at eighty cents of our money. 
Coincident with the fall in market value of silver 
bullion, the dollar suffered a further decline until 
it reached a point below fifty cents, recalling our 



114 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

experience with ^'greenbacks" during the dark 
days of the Civil War. Business enterprises suf- 
fered still further embarrassment from the rapid 
fluctuations in prices quoted from day to day. The 
sale of checks issued by the treasurer of the Amer- 
ican Board became something of a gamble. Quo- 
tations were telegraphed from Mexico City at 
noon ; and it was an interesting problem whether 
to sell the exchange on Boston before noon or 
after. Since the price might be raised or lowered 
as much as two per cent in the brief interval, the 
gain or loss to the treasury might be as much as 
$20 on a single check of $1000. 

In the hope of removing this disturbing element 
of uncertainty, which for some time had seemed to 
grow worse, the federal government sent to Eu- 
rope a commission of three financiers to study the 
monetary problem, one of whom was the leading 
banker of Chihuahua, Don Enrique C. Creel, who 
afterward became governor of the state, then min- 
ister of foreign affairs in the cabinet of President 
Diaz, and finally ambassador at Washington. 
Upon his return he invited a number of us, repre- 
sentatives of different nationalities, to meet with 
leading Mexicans in the drawing-room of his pri- 
vate residence, when he told something about the 
investigations and conclusions of his committee. 
Later he published a pamphlet on the subject. The 
net result was that the country adopted the gold 
standard on the basis of a unit value of fifty 
cents for the silver dollar, which of course was 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CHIHUAHUA 115 

an approximation to its bullion value, and this 
served to put a stop to the fluctuations in the price 
of ^ ^ exchange. ' ' 

A large quantity of gold coins were minted, of 
the denominations of $5, $10 and $20 Mexican, 
having, of course, but one-half the weight of the 
gold pieces of the same denominations coined by 
the United States. Also were there introduced im- 
provements in the subsidiary coinage of silver and 
copper — the old reals and fractions of the same 
having already disappeared from circulation. The 
notes of all the banks of emission were received 
at par, and readily redeemed in specie when de- 
sired. In the meantime the foreign debt had been 
refunded at a lower rate of interest, much lower 
than our own government had been compelled to 
pay during the throes of the Civil War, because 
the Mexican government was meeting its obliga- 
tions promptly, and its credit abroad had conse- 
quently risen. 



CHAPTEE IX 

FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 

The first step after arrival in the city was to 
find a honse suitable for onr purpose; centrally 
located and having a sala large enough to accom- 
modate a small assemblage for public worship. 
Soon we secured a convenient place of residence 
on Aldama Street, only one short block from the 
plaza. The owner was an elderly spinster of 
French descent, who had come from St. Louis 
many years before to engage in teaching, but was 
now retired from active service. She was pleased 
to have for tenants a respectable family compris- 
ing women and children, rather than unattached 
men who might on short notice abandon their 
lodgings. An American resident introduced me 
to the lady who, after learning our errand, agreed 
to rent the house for a stipulated sum, and handed 
over the bunch of keys. 

Inspection of the premises made it plain that 
some repairs were needed before the rooms would 
be fit for occupancy. Therefore on the following 
day I went again to see the landlady and ask her 
to be so kind as to put the place in better order. 
To my great surprise she requested the return of 

116 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 117 

the keys, saying slie had learned that I was 
a Protestant minister, and she supposed I 
would hold religious services in the sala of her 
house. I admitted that my countrymen would be 
invited to meet for worship in that room until they 
could rent some kind of a hall to serve for a chapel. 
^^But after a while you will invite the Mexicans 
to meet with you." My rejoinder was: ^^I do not 
know that they will care to come. ' ' * ^ Oh, they will 
come,^' she said. That was about the first word 
spoken by anybody which encouraged me to think 
that in time the simple gospel would win a hearing 
from the people of the land. She was frank enough 
to say that if only we were in St. Louis, she would 
have no objection to us as tenants, adding that in 
the circle of her friends there were some Protes- 
tant ministers, ^^but it would scandalize this whole 
city for me to rent my house to you who have come 
to establish a new religion. '^ 

She was immovable and the case appeared hope- 
less ; for as yet there had not been drawn up any 
rent contract in writing with revenue stamps 
affixed to make it effective. If those keys had been 
in my pocket, undoubtedly they would have been 
surrendered to their owner. But they were of 
great size and correspondingly heavy, similar in 
dimensions to the key of the Bastille which La- 
fayette gave to Washington, and which is guarded 
with other precious relics at Mount Vernon. 
Therefore they could not be stowed in an ordinary 
pocket, and had been left at the hotel. Fortunately 



118 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

I went at once to the friendly mayor to apprise 
him of onr predicament, and he cast a new light 
on the situation. ' ' She agreed to let yon have her 
house for a stipulated monthly rental?'' ^^Yes.'' 
' ' She gave you the keys to that house ? ' ' " Yes. ' ' 
'^And in presence of a friend who might serve as 
witness to the transaction?" ''Yes." ''Then 
send to her by the hand of two persons money to 
pay the rent for one month, and have them bring 
back her receipt for the same. If she accepts the 
money, well and good; but should she decline to 
receive it, then deposit it with a justice of the 
peace, and get his receipt. The law protects you 
as tenant; and she cannot dispossess you, unless 
she desires to sell the property or to occupy the 
premises herself. If you surrender those keys, 
you might just as well pack your trunks and re- 
turn to the United States; for no one else in 
this city will rent you a house now. They are 
two hundred years behind the times. ' ' 

Two gentlemen consented to carry the money to 
the landlady, quite confident of being able to ob- 
tain a receipt for it; but they soon returned and 
reported failure in their mission, assuring me with 
emphasis: "She will never touch your money." 

Then the editor of the American newspaper, 
who could speak Spanish, accompanied me to the 
office of the judge. The latter gave close attention 
to my statement, through the interpreter, of the 
circumstances connected with the case ; and when 
I had finished, he replied in excellent English, say- 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 119 

ing that he had understood every word. Evidently 
he had allowed all to pass through the medium of 
the other's translation in order to satisfy himself 
as to whether both of us were speaking the truth. 
Then he gave me a receipt for the money which he 
was going to deposit in one of the banks. The nec- 
essary repairs to the dwelling were made at our 
own expense; and on the first Sunday after we 
occupied it, the doors were thrown open for an 
afternoon service in English. But the account of 
Avhat was done for our countrymen will be given 
in a subsequent chapter. 

Although we had arrived at El Paso early in 
November, so much time was consumed in waiting 
at the border for our belongings, and again in the 
Chihuahua hotel, that it was now after the middle 
of December; and an unusually cold winter had 
set in. Soon there came a fall of snow to the depth 
of several inches ; and it was necessary to shovel 
it off the flat roofs which surrounded the court on 
all four sides, in order to prevent the leaking of 
water into the rooms below. Since the house was 
eighty feet in width and built against the adjoin- 
ing houses on both sides, the snow was thrown into 
the court; but across this were cleared two or 
three paths to give access to the principal rooms. 
One of the paths led from our bedroom to the 
dining-room, which could not be heated; and the 
only way to light it was by leaving open the heavy 
wooden door. The accumulated snow transformed 
the interior of the house into an ice chest, and the 



120 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ladies seated at table for their meals, wore the 
circular cloaks lined with fur which had been their 
defense against the rigors of winter at the north, 
while I was protected by an overcoat. But within 
a few days the snow had melted ; and a wood fire 
in an imported stove, which had been set up in the 
living-room, brought grateful relief. 

When the pleasing and capable Mexican woman, 
who had been engaged to perform domestic ser- 
vice, had suddenly disappeared at the behest of 
her priestly adviser, there was found a man, teach- 
able, honest and faithful, to work in the kitchen 
and sometimes tend the baby. During the hour of 
our religious service in the sala he would give him- 
self to the diligent reading in the kitchen of a man- 
ual of prayers and devotions to the saints, thus to 
protect his soul against contamination by the her- 
etics. On the front doors of the cathedral was 
posted a notice signed by the bishop of the diocese, 
which warned the faithful, under pain of excom- 
munication, not to work for us, nor sell to us food 
or furniture, and especially not to attend our reli- 
gious meetings. With the object of continuing 
the study of Spanish which had been begun in 
Boston, it was arranged with the professor of 
English at the state college to give me private les- 
sons at our residence. He failed to come at the 
hour indicated, but sent a note asking to be ex- 
cused on the plea that he had so much to do. It 
was learned that while he himself had no religious 
prejudice, for the sake of peace in the family — 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 121 

his wife objecting strongly to his teaching a Prot- 
estant minister to speak their language — ^he felt 
compelled to break his engagement. 

In the meantime my sister-in-law was giving 
lessons in English to a few Mexican gentlemen 
who had called while we were yet staying in the 
hotel, and had prevailed upon her to teach them. 
One was a popular teacher of the piano ; another 
had a private school for boys ; a third was a law- 
yer, who afterward became the attorney for the 
Banco Miner o; still another, son of a former gover- 
nor of the state, was a rising attorney whose pro- 
fessional library consisted mainly of works in the 
French language. This last, upon learning of the 
impossibility of getting anyone to teach me the 
Spanish, very kindly offered to instruct me him- 
self without charge, coming to my study for the 
purpose, after his teacher had dismissed her class. 

One evening, in the course of a somewhat inti- 
mate conversation, he informed me that in his 
childhood he believed all that was taught him, and 
was accustomed to kneel in church by the side of 
his mother and repeat the prescribed prayers. 
' ^ But now, ' ' said he, ^ ^ I believe nothing of all that ; 
I am an atheist.'^ Probably it would have been 
nearer the truth for him to say : ^ ^ I am an infidel. ' ^ 
His attitude toward the Eoman Catholic Church 
was typical of that of multitudes of the more in- 
telligent men in professional, business, military 
and official circles in Mexico. 

Later I had occasion to call at the residence of 



122 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

a cultivated gentleman who was holding at the 
same time two offices, being president of the state 
college and superintendent of public instruction. 
When he found me seated just inside the door 
of the well-furnished sala^ he insisted upon con- 
ducting me, quite after the manner of a punctilious 
oriental, to the seat of honor on the sofa at the 
upper end of the room, while he seated himself 
in a chair near by. He explained the presence of a 
handsomely framed picture of the Virgin of Gua- 
dalupe which hung against the wall at my left, by 
saying that it was a gift to his wife by friends 
of hers. He then directed my attention to a large 
picture on the opposite wall, of very different 
character. It presented an interior view of the 
refectory of a monastery, the stone walls and 
arches being of massive construction. At the table 
were seated two monks wearing the habit of their 
particular order. Before them were decanters and 
wine glasses; and their faces were sensual and 
bloated. One of the two was diverting himself by 
torturing a fly. The insect dangled from a string 
held aloft by the fingers of the left hand, while in 
the other was a pair of scissors with which the 
lazy monk was clipping the hapless fly's wings 
and legs. Thus were priests of the Roman 
Catholic Church presented to view in a most re- 
pugnant aspect, and in marked contrast to the de- 
vout face and mien of the Virgin. Said the official 
with a smile : ^ ^ I tell my friends that they may take 
their choice." He also stated that he allowed his 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 123 

wife to attend Mass, but that he had forbidden 
her to go to confession. Of course then it was not 
possible for her to be in good standing in the com- 
munion of her church. 

Many similar cases might be cited of men of my 
acquaintance who took the position of saying in 
effect, with regard to what they knew of the Chris- 
tain religion, ^^If that is Christianity, I cannot 
accept it; I am an infidel.'' Such a declaration 
as that has my sympathy ; for it does credit to both 
mind and heart. But what a lamentable result of 
the teaching and the mode of life of most of the 
priests in Latin America! Men who have been 
forced into infidelity by having pressed upon them 
such a caricature of the religion of Jesus, prefer 
to call themselves ^^freethinkers,'' claiming the 
right to form their own opinions concerning re- 
ligious matters without being dictated to by an 
ecclesiastical caste or class of men who, they feel, 
are holding the minds and souls of their wives and 
daughters in spiritual bondage. In the public 
schools the greater part of the men engaged in 
teaching, and a considerable part of the women 
instructors as well, demand for themselves this 
freedom of thought; and even the older boys 
among the pupils are familiar with the term li- 
brepensador and rather pride themselves upon 
being freethinkers. 

The owner and editor of ^ ^ The Chihuahua 
Mail," which was printed in two languages and 
had a weekly circulation in the state of nearly two 



124 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

thousand copies, began to suffer some inconve- 
nience from religious bigotry, because he pub- 
lished notices of our church services in both Eng- 
lish and Spanish. Some of his patrons threatened 
to withdraw their advertising if he continued to 
favor us in that way. They demanded that at least 
he should put those notices among the advertise- 
ments and exact payment for them at regular 
rates. But he continued to print in a prominent 
place, and gratuitously, our announcements, and 
invited me to write regularly for the columns of 
the paper. Although not a member of the church, 
he made a determined stand for religious free- 
dom ; and even purchased of me a Spanish Bible 
and laid it on the counter of his office where all 
callers would see it. 

On Sunday evening. May 20th, was held the first 
service in Spanish, one almost exclusively of song. 
An American lady gave valuable help with her 
powerful soprano voice and perhaps still more by 
her very presence, since she was widely known 
as the wife of the first foreign physician and sur- 
geon to establish himself in Chihuahua. Several 
other Americans came to the meeting ; and the or- 
gan playing, together with the singing, quickly at- 
tracted a crowd of Mexicans to the open windows. 
Some of them were persuaded to enter; and all 
listened respectfully to the reading of the hymns 
which afterward were sung, and to the verbal 
translation by the leader of texts from the Eng- 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 125 

lish Bible which had been displayed upon the walls 
of the temporary chapel for months past. 

One week later, in addition to the singing, there 
were given readings from the Scriptures, espe- 
cially the twenty-third psalm. About the third 
week the principal of the private school for boys, 
who had had a talk with me about our religion and 
had purchased a copy of the Spanish Bible of the 
largest size, reported what he had heard said by 
somebody who was listening on the outside and 
seemed rather puzzled by the proceedings within. 
The remark was : ^^ What kind of a religion is this? 
No prayer nor preaching ; only reading and sing- 
ing!'^ Therefore I determined to go a step 
further and present, if possible, a closer approxi- 
mation to an orderly religious service including 
the sermon. Already was I writing compositions 
to be corrected by my teacher. Why not select a 
religious topic and prepare a discourse suitable 
for the pulpit? In accordance with the new plan, 
on the fourth Sunday evening I read some collects 
from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer in 
Spanish besides the Lord's Prayer, and recited 
the Apostles' Creed; read the fourth chapter of 
the Gospel according to John — the story of the 
conversation of Jesus with the woman of Samaria 
who asked Him concerning the place where 
men ought to worship; and then presented the 
composition which had been prepared on the sub- 
ject of ^^ Worship," — the spiritual kind to be of- 
fered to a spiritual Being. The reading occupied 



126 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

from twelve to fifteen minutes, and was listened 
to with profound attention. Evidently my hearers 
understood what was said. After it was all over, 
and the people had gone, it seemed like a dream 
that I had been preaching in Spanish to Mexicans ! 
Thus had cherished hopes begun to be fulfilled. 

During the preceding months there had been 
put into circulation many copies of the Bible, either 
as a whole or in part, and a lot of other books and 
tracts, through the display in the little show 
window of my study which faced the street. Upon 
a table behind the glass were arranged in an at- 
tractive manner a variety of volumes, with a Bible 
of large size for the pulpit lying open in the center. 
Day by day were turned the leaves of the book, 
in order that the regular passersby might, if they 
wished, read different portions of the volume. A 
little book published by the American Tract So- 
ciety was full of pictures that children loved to 
look at. It was a translation of the Tract Primer 
which was widely read in my own childhood, and 
contained nothing in criticism of the Eoman Cath- 
olic Church; and it became very popular. The 
mother of a prominent banker came to the house 
repeatedly to buy copies for presents to her 
grandchildren. 

It would have given me great pleasure to offer 
for sale the Koman Catholic Bible, because then 
it would have been easy to prove the falsity of the 
charge made by the priests that we were putting 
into circulation a mutilated book. But the stand- 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 127 

ard work was very costly, consisting of the Latin 
version by Jerome, commonly called the Vulgate, 
and the Spanish by Padre Scio, in parallel col- 
umns; having foot-notes in Spanish on every 
page, which were explanatory of the text or quoted 
comments by early church fathers ; and containing 
numerous steel-plate engravings illustrative of sa- 
cred history. But this edition was in five volumes 
bound in leather, and sold at that time in New 
York for fifty dollars. There was a cheaper edi- 
tion in two volumes obtainable for about twenty 
dollars. But even this was far beyond the reach of 
the mass of the people, when unskilled laborers 
were receiving less than fifty cents per diem, a 
wage which did not provide them with decent 
clothing and nourishing food. 

The faithful were warned not to purchase any 
books which bore on the title page the name ' ' New 
York.'' Consequently it was arranged later to 
insert in copies of the Spanish New Testament 
and single Gospels which were designed for our 
use, a special title page that did not mention that 
city. I wanted to have omitted also the words, 
^* American Bible Society," but one of the secre- 
taries wrote that it would be necessary to retain 
those words in order to meet legal requirements. 
However, he did obtain for us from Europe, and at 
a comparatively low price, copies of the Padre 
Scio version in one volume, bound in cloth; and 
these served the purpose of demonstrating to the 
satisfaction of intelligent persons who honestly 



128 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

desired to know the facts of the case, that there 
was no essential difference between this transla- 
tion and that of the Protestants; and, further, 
that the books included in both Bibles were very 
nearly the same. 

In some small towns the priests succeeded in 
getting hold of a few copies of our Bible ; and they 
burned them in public as pestilent books which 
were a menace to the moral and spiritual welfare 
of the people. But for this mild form of auto-da- 
fe they were not able to gather much material; 
for the simple reason that we did not give away 
any Bibles, Testaments or Gospels. Those who 
possessed these books had paid cash for them out 
of their scanty earnings, and consequently were 
loath to part with them at the behest of the padre; 
and when they had had time to read them thor- 
oughly and to appreciate their contents, finding 
these to be not corrupting but elevating, they were 
not so easily terrified by the denunciations of an 
angry priest. 

In those earlier years even the tracts were not 
distributed gratuitously, but were sold at prices 
graded according to the number of pages in each 
one. The only exceptions occurred in connection 
with selling copies of the Scriptures. Thus to the 
purchaser of a Bible would often be donated, as 
a sort of premium, a tract in the form of a booklet 
which might be priced at from five to eight cents ; 
with a Testament might be given one that was 
worth three or four cents; while a Gospel might 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 129 

be accompanied by a still cheaper tract of four 
or eight pages. The endeavor was to select a tract 
which might give needed help or guidance to an 
unaccustomed reader of the Scriptures. 

It is not surprising that the priests were un- 
willing to have the common people get hold of a 
book which, if it were studied with an open mind, 
would produce an impression so largely at vari- 
ance with many things which they had been taught 
to believe. They were reluctant to permit even 
those belonging to the educated classes to investi- 
gate for themselves the sacred volume. Let it be 
remembered in this connection that what is here 
set down does not refer to the more liberal and en- 
lightened administration of ecclesiastical affairs 
in England and in the United States, but to what 
is done by the majority of the priests who serve 
the Roman Church in the Latin American coun- 
tries. 

One instance of this priestly distrust of the 
Bible, which came under my close observation, will 
show to what lengths of sheerest folly it can lead 
an honest bigot or an insincere official of the 
church. A well-informed gentleman who was in 
charge of hundreds of customhouse guards, sta- 
tioned over a wide area bordering on the United 
States and reporting regularly to him at the cen- 
tral office in Chihuahua, told me that he asked 
a leading priest in the city to be so kind as to lend 
to him a copy of the Bible of the Roman Catholic 
Church, but that the priest denied his request. 



130 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Later, when that same gentleman wished to give 
his son the advantages of a course of professional 
study in my country, he came to me for advice. 
From among several schools of dentistry which 
were recommended to him, he chose the one of the 
Iowa State University, on account of its being 
nearer home. The young man was examined by 
me as to his command of the English language, 
which was found to be excellent, and he carried 
a letter of introduction to Chancellor J. L. Pick- 
ard. Three years later, when the coveted diploma 
had been won. Dr. Pickard wrote of him: ^^His 
standing was at the head of his class of sixty- 
one, or very near it. The Dean of the Faculty 
said to me a few days ago, ^Barrera is a model 
student; I wish there were more like him.' . . . 
I have seen him every week, and can say that I 
have never met a young man more self-respecting, 
more polite, more careful of his reputation. . . . 
All who have met him here have only words of 
praise for him. I wish you might send up others 
like him. He must have an excellent mother and 
a wise father. I thought you were entitled to 
know of his work here, and that he has met fully 
your recommendation of him.'' 

During all the years of my residence in Chi- 
huahua it was my custom to take sympathetic 
advantage of the church year in my religious 
teaching, as well as on their national days to call 
attention to what the Bible says regarding respect 
for civil authorities, and to urge the members of 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 131 

our local church to pray for grace and wisdom to 
be granted those who were charged with adminis- 
tering the affairs of government. One year 
there were given out handbills announcing special 
services during the lenten season, with the added 
statement that all the Scripture lessons would be 
taken from the Eoman Catholic Bible. One Sun- 
day morning, during the session of the Bible 
school, a policeman called at our place of worship 
and asked for a copy of the handbill, which was 
given to him, and nothing more thought about it. 
But afterward was it learned that the mayor of 
the city in conversation with a prominent attorney 
had told the latter that the Protestants were using 
in their services the Eoman Catholic Bible. He 
could not believe this to be true. Then the mayor 
laid a wager that it was even so. His challenge 
having been accepted, he dispatched an officer to 
obtain a copy of the handbill, thus furnishing 
proof of his assertion which the lawyer could not 
gainsay. 

Whichever one of the five elegantly bound vol- 
umes might be opened on the desk, attention was 
called first to the title page, from which it ap- 
peared that the book had been printed in Bar- 
celona, Spain, con las licencias necesarias; that is 
to say, it had the required approval of the Church. 
Then followed the reading of the selected portion; 
and often was the reading suspended long enough 
to present, from the notes at the bottom of the 
page, a helpful comment made by some one of the 



132 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

churcli fathers of the early centuries. Sometimes 
the comment was enlightening to one who had been 
brought up in the Roman communion, because it 
showed that certain of the teachings and the prac- 
tices of the priests in Mexico were not in accord 
With the spirit of that comment, and consequently 
not in accord with the doctrines of their own Bible. 
That appears to me to be a sufficient explanation 
of the unwillingness of the priests to have the 
people read the Scriptures for themselves, even 
when those Scriptures are the very ones printed 
con las licencias necesarias. 

Early in May, our infant son, never robust, be- 
came very ill, and there was held a consultation 
of physicians. The child rallied for a time; but 
toward the end of a summer whose extreme heat, 
added to the work of studying Spanish and caring 
for services in two languages, had depleted the 
strength of all of us, we carried the child to cool 
"Wisconsin in the endeavor to save the precious 
life. But soon the sweet spirit took its flight to 
the better land. 

Returning in the autumn to our foreign home 
we resumed both branches of the work under fa- 
voring conditions. The officers of the American 
Evangelical Society and their wives were invited 
to take tea with us and consider plans for the 
coming year. We made out a list of fifty families 
on the ground, besides single men who might be 
considered as belonging to our parish. But the 
most cheering thing, which came to our knowledge 



1 




First Fruits of the New Mission 



FOUNDING A NEW MISSION 133 

a few hours after our arrival, was the fact that a 
Mexican and his wife, who had many acquaint- 
ances in the city and who had bought of me before 
our departure a large Bible, had been reading it 
diligently, and as a result had been thoroughly 
converted, and desired at the earliest opportunity 
to make confession of faith in Christ as their 
Savior. 

On the eighteenth of November these two, ac- 
companied by eight or ten of their Mexican 
friends, attended the afternoon service in English, 
a language which none of them understood. At 
the close notice was given of what was about to 
take place ; and the suggestion was made that after 
the ceremony of their reception was concluded, 
all the Christians present give a right hand of 
fellowship and friendliness to the new believers. 
To my surprise and joy nearly all the Americans, 
whether avowed church members or not, before 
passing out shook hands with the two Mexicans. 
It was a delightful scene of international good 
will and of sympathy with our special work. Even 
Don Felipe's old mother, a communicant in the 
ancient church, had come to witness the ceremony ; 
and she warmly grasped my hand in both of hers 
while the tears rolled down her cheeks, thus ac- 
knowledging a common bond of Christian faith. 
Great was our rejoicing over this gathering of the 
first fruits of the harvest which was to be. 



CHAPTER X 



A TOUEIl^G EVANGELIST 



Eably in December I started south with a stock 
of sixty copies of the Scriptures, as a whole or in 
part, and twenty-five hundred tracts. My first 
stop was at Santa Rosalia, a town of about five 
thousand inhabitants, and distant one hundred 
miles. After dinner I went to the market to offer 
my books, and before sunset had sold them all. 
The next morning in the same place all the tracts 
remaining in my possession were disposed of be- 
fore ten o^clock, some of the street venders buy- 
ing small stocks of the booklets which were offered 
at prices so low as to leave them a good margin 
for profit. As no material remained for other 
places along the line of projected travel, it seemed 
best to return home. 

In January was undertaken a trip to Parral, 
which was distant two hundred miles by rail and 
diligence, with the object of visiting a small group 
of believers who had drifted there from the 
Laguna district further south, where they had 
heard the truth from Presbyterian brethren ; and 
at the same time to test the attitude of the general 
public by offering them our publications. The 

134 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 135 

market was housed in a fine building of stone and 
iron, which had been given by a German long resi- 
dent in that city. When application was made to 
the Mexican superintendent for a permit to sell 
there my books and tracts, for a moment he was 
puzzled as to the kind of form he should use. He 
would have had no difficulty in arranging for the 
sale of meats or fresh vegetables; of milk and 
cheese ; of corn, beans and rice ; of clothing, hats, 
shoes, and sandals ; of saddles and bridles, spurs 
and lariats; of domestic utensils of iron, brass, 
copper, tin, glass and china ; but books and tracts ! 
However, he soon selected a small printed slip of 
paper, filled in the blank spaces by writing the 
date, the class of goods and the amount paid, and 
handed it to me. The slip stated that for the sum 
of five cents there was granted me license for one 
day to sell granos, that is to say, grains. My heart 
felt a thrill of joy; for what could be more signifi- 
cant of my real errand than the word he had 
chosen to designate the articles I had brought for 
distribution? ^^ Behold, a sower went forth to 
sow.'^ My aim was precisely to scatter the good 
seed of the word, in the hope that some of it might 
fall into good ground. Indeed it did ; for in after 
years men whom I had come to know declared that 
they had obtained from me there the first copies 
they had seen of the Scriptures, the reading of 
which had revealed to them the way of life. 

Upon a borrowed table my wares were displayed 
to the view of all who passed by ; and soon a brisk 



136 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

business was under way. My method was to read 
aloud for a few minutes from one of the books, 
thus attracting a group of hearers, and then to 
offer for sale the volume or tract containing the 
narrative to which they had just listened. No 
sooner did I hold up, for example, the Gospel ac- 
cording to Luke from which had been read 
the story of the birth of Jesus, offering to ex- 
change it for the small sum of six cents, than a 
hand would be thrust out from under the woolen 
serape of one of the bystanders (it was mid- 
winter), to pass over to me four copper tlacos. 
Others would do the same. When the stock of that 
Gospel was running low, I could read the account 
of the visit of the wise men from the east, and 
thereby start a run on the Gospel of Matthew. 

By the middle of the second day my entire stock 
had been disposed of; and a new supply was or- 
dered from home by telegraph. In the meantime 
I made the acquaintance of the humble brethren 
who had been holding meetings in one of their 
dwellings under the lead of one of their number, 
a shoemaker, who was better instructed than the 
rest and could teach them the fundamental truths 
of the Christian faith. The patriarch of the group, 
who thought his age to be ninety-five years, was 
laid upon a bed and had not long to live. He ex- 
pressed deep sorrow for the sins committed in past 
years, and said that he had put his trust in Jesus 
as his Savior. Also he had a great desire to par- 
take of the Lord's Supper before passing out of 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 137 

this life. Of course there was no silver service 
within reach; but we had all the conveniences 
that were possessed by most of the Christians of 
the first century, and as we partook of the simple 
symbols, we felt sure of the presence of Him who 
said: ^^Do this in remembrance of Me." 

In March were made two trips to Aldama, which 
included visits to ranches along the way. Again 
were the sales beyond expectation. But there was 
no market, and I had to carry the books and tracts 
in a bag, going from door to door like a common 
vender. Some householders would not give me 
any chance to talk with them; others were inter- 
ested, but generally had no money. The best re- 
sults were obtained in the corner grocery stores ; 
but the great hit was made when I walked through 
a large open door and found myself in a cockpit, 
where a company of men were watching a fight 
between two roosters. At the first favorable 
pause in the bloody diversion my bag was opened, 
and the attention of all was quickly drawn to the 
novelty of a Gringo reading and offering for sale 
religious publications ! It was the middle of the 
afternoon; and there I stayed until the sun went 
down, reading, talking and taking in money from 
those who were interested to purchase, until most 
of my stock had been disposed of. When it was 
time for all to go, the proprietor of the resort in- 
timated that it would be the fair thing for me to 
hand him a fee for having had the use of his 
plaza de gallos for a considerable time, and he 



138 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

seemed satisfied with, the gratuity offered him. On 
those two trips were sold thirty-two Bibles, thirty- 
eight Testaments and one hundred and twenty- 
four Gospels, besides fifty volumes published by 
the American Tract Society, and over seventeen 
thousand pages of tracts. 

In April was made another visit to Parral, with 
stops on the way in the important towns of Ji- 
menez and AUende. In four and a half days in the 
first-named place were sold three hundred and 
thirty-one copies of the Scriptures, complete or in 
portions, and fifteen thousand pages of tracts, be- 
sides other books, and the receipts amounted to 
one hundred dollars. In Jimenez alone were sold, 
at a tlaco each, more than one hundred copies of 
a four page tract entitled ^^ Ventajas Que Eesultan 
de la Borrachera," (The Advantages Eesulting 
from Drunkenness). The sarcastic allusions to the 
supposed advantages convey many a sly thrust 
which makes its way through the joints in the de- 
fensive armor of the user of intoxicating liquors. 
Mexicans even of the peon class have a lively sense 
of humor; and whenever I read aloud portions 
of that tract, I was absolutely certain in advance 
of the response it would call forth from my 
hearers, particularly at the suggestion, ^'If you 
want to have your brain befuddled ... so that 
you may become as stupid as a donkey, get 
drunk. ^' At this point the broad smiles would 
change to hearty laughter. In after years an in- 
telligent man, who was a sort of attorney repre- 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 139 

senting clients in the courts of law, and who be- 
came a faithful member of our congregation at 
the capital, said that he had purchased of me in 
Jimenez a copy of the tract; and that it led him- 
self and several friends to become teetotalers. 

At home during the following week we were 
favored with calls from tourists who left with us 
donations for the work. But the greatest encour- 
agement came from a visit made by Rev. Dr. and 
Mrs. F. A. Noble of the Union Park Church of 
Chicago, who made a brief stay as our guests. 
To Dr. Noble was shown a piece of ground on Inde- 
pendence Avenue for which the friendly mayor 
of the city (as my confidential agent), had offered 
to pay the owner $3000, in vain; and at once he 
said: ^^Pay as much as $5000, if necessary to 
secure so fine a location for the erection of build- 
ings to serve the uses of the mission; some way 
will be found to raise the money.'' But some- 
thing still better was in store for us. 

In the autumn, with money donated by friends 
in the United States, I purchased a horse and a 
large spring cart for the purpose of extending my 
visits to points not yet accessible by railway. The 
first trip on two wheels was to the mining town of 
Cusihuiriachic, eighty miles west, which then had 
a population of seven thousand. My companion 
was a young Mexican who had formerly led a wild 
life and in the course of it had killed a man, and 
who was not yet a Christian. Our route lay 
through diversified and beautiful scenery — long 



140 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

and wide stretches of grazing lands, of a vivid 
green after the summer rains, rounded and 
wooded hills succeeded by mountains — and 
among these last our road followed, now on one 
side and then on the other, a stream of clear water 
flowing over a rocky bed. It was necessary to ford 
that small river thirty-seven times, jolting over 
the large stones which disputed the passage of the 
cart ; but the obstacles were overcome without ac- 
cident and with the springs intact. The miners 
seemed to have money to spend freely ; and within 
a short time was sold the entire stock of books and 
tracts, leaving nothing with which to interest the 
people in Guerrero, fifty miles beyond, which had 
been our final objective. 

In December, in the same cart and with the same 
companion, I drove along the line of the old dili- 
gence road, two hundred and fifty miles, to Paso 
del Norte, to take advantage of the assembling 
of the crowds that came every year to celebrate 
for a week the ^'Fiesta de Nuestra Seiiora la Vir- 
gen de Guadalupe. ' ^ But the people were so com- 
pletely absorbed in the diversions offered them, 
in the form of tables for eatables and drinkables, 
licensed gambling for that week, and the peddling 
of relics and appliances of religion, that food for 
the mind was not in demand ; and consequently the 
sales were disappointingly small. However, the 
missionary had learned a lesson that would be of 
service to him. 

In May of 1885 the wife accompanied me by 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 141 

railroad to Santa Rosalia and Jimenez for the 
purpose of extending our acquaintance in those 
towns, and considering the advisability of starting 
regular gospel work in one or both of them. As 
often occurred, some persons who were expected 
to cooperate failed us, while others for the first 
time showed real friendliness. In Jimenez on 
Sunday afternoon we passed along the streets 
from house to house, greeting in a courteous man- 
ner the people, chiefly women and children, who 
were grouped about the doorway or seated behind 
the iron-barred windows ; and when they were will- 
ing to listen, reading to them and singing gospel 
songs. In front of one of the humbler dwellings 
the curious continued to come from both up and 
down the street, until there were assembled about 
fifty persons who listened attentively to every 
word read or spoken or sung. The only thing lack- 
ing to make of that impromptu gathering a relig- 
ious service, was prayer; but the omission of the 
last was necessary to save us from liability to ar- 
rest and the imposition of a fine for an infraction 
of the law which forbids the holding of religious 
meetings outside of buildings — a prohibition 
which thus far has prevented the Salvation Army 
from undertaking any work in Mexico. 

Soon was the cart exchanged for a commodious 
beach wagon, in preparation for extended tours 
by the country roads. The two double seats and 
top were removed and a covered buggy seat put 
in their place, thus making room for transporting 



142 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

bedding, provisions, books and changes of cloth- 
ing. The bedding was rolled np inside a shelter 
tent of unbleached muslin, which at night was 
tied on one side to the tops of the wheels, and on 
the other to stakes driven into the ground. This 
was occupied by us two, while for the little son a 
bed was made in the wagon. The horse was teth- 
ered to some tree near by; or when a tree was 
lacking, to the vehicle itself. Sometimes when we 
stopped for the night in a village, where it was not 
convenient to pitch the tent, we spread our bedding 
on the ground under the wagon. Occasionally 
when it threatened to rain, we slept in some large 
store-room among sacks of corn and beans, and 
then we enjoyed a more luxurious resting-place 
upon a heap of straw. 

In this manner during successive years we made 
many round trips of from two hundred and fifty to 
three hundred miles each, covering a region in the 
western part of the state which extended out to 
the high sierras and measured from north to south 
between two hundred and three hundred miles. 
Usually a trip was accomplished in ten or twelve 
days, involving an absence from the home base, 
where we were much needed, of only one Sunday 
at a time. In the heated term it was often advis- 
able to imitate the example of the freighters, and 
get started on the road a good while before sun- 
rise. Like them would we stop for breakfast 
at the roadside, wherever we could get a little fuel 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 143 

for making a fire, and preferably near a stream 
of water. 

But on some of the broad expanses of the plain 
the precious liquid could not be found for many 
hours, and our supply was limited to what the 
canteen might contain. Sometimes we had to 
share this small store with ^^Eoany,'' this name 
having been given to our faithful steed because 
his color was that of a strawberry roan. He was 
so small that in our country he would be called a 
pony; but he was very strong and willing, never 
requiring a whip to urge him on, and he was kept 
in good condition, so that everywhere he attracted 
attention and an occasional offer by some admirer 
to purchase him. In order to save his strength on 
those long journeys, it was my invariable custom 
to walk up the hills ; and since our safety depended 
in so large a measure upon his welfare, at the end 
of each day it was my first care to look after 
his comfort. He was very intelligent and appre- 
ciative, so that we became strongly attached to 
him. For twenty years he was a faithful co- 
laborer ; and when the end came, we mourned him. 
It hardly seemed possible that there could not be 
a future life for our dumb friend; and if there 
be any paradise for such as he, his fidelity will 
have its reward. 

Some of our American friends thought it very 
unsafe for us to travel in this way, without carry- 
ing firearms for our defense on the highway, ac- 
cording to the universal custom of those days, and 



144 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

mthout having even a man servant for company. 
Indeed, one of the Presbyterian missionaries, who 
did a great deal of touring in his buggy drawn 
by a team of horses, told me that he always kept 
a loaded rifle by his side, and that he believed 
it had saved his life a number of times when some 
rough-looking man had arisen suddenly at the side 
of the road, but, seeing the gun, had slunk out of 
sight. At length a Christian mining man, who 
occasionally made a stop in our city and attended 
church services, so urged the importance of taking 
precautions against attack, at the same time offer- 
ing to present me with a revolver and a belt of 
cartridges, if I would promise to carry them on 
the next trip, that I yielded to his importunity. 

Not long after that promise was given, the ar- 
ticles were received from a camp in the Organ 
Mountains of New Mexico, having been brought 
by the conductor of a Santa Fe train to El 
Paso, and from there by a Mexican Central con- 
ductor to Chihuahua. It was a formidable-looking 
weapon of 45 caliber, and I felt unwilling to buckle 
it around my waist, and begin the next trip wear- 
ing a Coitus revolver. But my promise had been 
given to the friend that I would carry his present, 
and there was no help for it. So it was packed 
with our other belongings in the wagon box to 
start with; and it was never taken out, but left 
with them to the end of the journey. 

That was the last of my carrying firearms ! In- 
deed, we were probably much safer without such 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 145 

weapons of defense. Far better to submit to being 
robbed of all we had, than to attempt to put up 
a fight with men who were ^ ^ quick on the trigger. ' ' 
About that time a Mexican gentleman assured us 
that we need have no fear, because we ^^knew how 
to treat'' his countrymen, with kindness and cour- 
tesy. Some of the Americans who have had 
trouble in Mexico, and rail against the 
' ' Greasers, ' ' really would better blame themselves 
for their misfortunes. Our own experience taught 
us that to try to follow the Golden Rule gave far 
better results than to be on the lookout for fraud 
or personal violence ; for the attitude of suspicion 
or dislike toward foreigners is sure to affect 
our treatment of them, and breed a corresponding 
attitude of distrust on their part. 

On one of our trips to Cusihuiriachic, while yet 
on the outskirts of the town we learned that a 
local revolution had taken place, resulting in the 
killing of the mayor by some one of the faction 
opposed to him ; and that it would be unsafe to en- 
ter with horse and wagon. Consequently we ac- 
cepted the hospitality of the family of a believer 
who had a contract for supplying oak wood for the 
furnaces of the principal mining company. They 
lived in a house built of stone on the edge of a 
wide, grassy plain, at a distance of three 
miles from the center of the town which lay at the 
bottom of a rapidly descending road through the 
arroyo. There we remained for several days. 
The aged parents of the householder and his two 



146 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

maiden sisters, together with his wife and three 
children, composed the family. At night all of 
us occupied one large room, making a company 
of twelve, consisting of three married couples, two 
spinsters and four children. One day I walked 
down the long hill alone into the town, but found 
all places of business closed, with heavy shutters 
before the windows and the streets almost de- 
serted, as if a plague had fallen upon the inhabi- 
tants. 

One year when the grazing lands had suffered 
from a prolonged drouth, and the stock had to 
travel many miles to get water to drink, there were 
lying close to the road scores of bloated carcasses 
of horses and cattle ; and the only way we could 
get past the grewsome sight, was by covering the 
head of Eoany with a blanket and leading him, 
thus blindfolded, as far as might be necessary. 

Many times we encountered cases of sick people 
whose friends thought we might be able to help 
them by furnishing medicine. How we did wish 
we were possessed of professional knowledge to 
minister to such needs! Naturally the ignorant 
people took no precautions against the spread of 
infectious diseases ; and we could not always know 
to what perils of contagion we were exposing our- 
selves. In one adohe house the wife, exhausted by 
many hours of travel on the road, was glad to rest 
for some hours on a bed that was not very clean. 
Not until after leaving it did she learn that a 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 147 

woman had died in that bed from diphtheria a 
short time before. 

Another time we found refuge at midday from 
a frightful windstorm, and were thankful to ob- 
tain from kind strangers shelter and food. As 
soon as we came to a halt in the court the poor 
horse lay down on the bare ground just as he was 
with the harness on, his strength almost gone from 
pulling the wagon against the wind which had 
lifted tiny pebbles from the road and hurled them 
into our faces with stinging impact. After we had 
done full justice to the palatable dishes that were 
brought to us in the living-room by a young 
woman, we found out that in the kitchen, where 
our food had been prepared, lay another woman 
desperately ill with smallpox. But we were not 
greatly disturbed by the occurrence; for we had 
become used to similar experiences. The only 
thing to do was to keep on with the work that 
fell to us, and commit our way to Him whom we 
were trying to serve. He kept us from the anxiety 
and worry which are so wearing and useless. 

A method of work productive of good results, 
in that it obtained a hearing for the gospel among 
all classes of people, was the use of the stereop- 
ticon. My stock of slides covered a wide range — 
views of notable places, buildings and personages, 
both in this country and in Europe, objects of art 
in painting and sculpture, astronomical pictures, 
illustrations of the evils of intemperance and other 



148 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

vices; but especially biblical scenes presenting 
both Old Testament and New Testament history. 

In order to launch successfully the new under- 
taking, my first effort was to gain the good will 
of leaders in the educational movement. There- 
fore I obtained permission to show a selected 
number of views in the assembly room of the state 
college before a company of teachers and other 
influential men including the head of that institu- 
tion, who was also superintendent of public in- 
struction. Afterwards this gentleman gave me 
letters of recommendation to those in charge of 
the common schools in certain towns, which 
opened the way beautifully for presenting my pic- 
tures in them. 

In further preparation for the campaign, I had 
printed a quantity of handbills which described 
the novel apparatus to be used, gave an alluring 
list of some of the pictures to be shown, and in- 
dicated the uniform price of twenty-five cents for 
admission. There were two kinds of tickets ; one 
of extra size and superior quality of pasteboard 
and denominated ^^Complimentary,'' which were 
to be distributed among the more influential fam- 
ilies, while the other was of a different color and 
grade of material for people who paid. 

Almost invariably the pictures were shown in 
one of the school rooms ; and each evening a large 
part of the seats were reserved for the pupils 
who, of course, were admitted free of charge 
under the supervision of teachers. In order that 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 149 

all might have a chance, some of the scholars were 
told to come on a specified evening, and others 
at different times. The charging of an admission 
fee served in a measure to avert suspicion, which 
would have arisen at once, if the ''show" had 
been announced as free to all ; and incidentally the 
moderate receipts were useful in meeting the 
traveling expenses. 

In Santa Eosalia the ''liberal" mayor was so 
pleased to have worth-while information given to 
both children and adults, that he not only ordered 
the teachers to arrange for their pupils to attend 
as a part of their school work, but sent the munic- 
ipal band to play on the street in front of the 
school house for an hour before the exhibition was 
to take place, to advertise it in the Mexican way. 

In San Pablo it was the wish of the authorities 
to obtain for my use the spacious court of a cer- 
tain private residence, where traveling theatrical 
companies were wont to present their dramas; 
but the owner was out of town, and we had to 
make the best of a small and ill-ventilated school 
room on a hot night. Because the paid admis- 
sions to the entertainment were few, the village 
president and the priest expressed their disap- 
pointment at the small pecuniary return, and in- 
sisted upon my acceptance of a gratuity of five 
dollars as partial compensation for my service to 
the public. 

At that time the padre was adding a tower to 
his church. So I offered to come again at any 



150 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

time he and the owner of the place of assembly 
might agree to name, for the purpose of giving 
another exhibition for the benefit of the bnilding 
fund, the sale of tickets to be wholly under his 
control, and nothing to be paid to myself except 
enough to meet the traveling expenses for the 
round trip of a hundred miles. He accepted my 
offer, and, after the custom of the country, we 
parted with a close embrace. However, some time 
later came a courteous letter from the priest, 
thanking me again for my generous offer but de- 
clining it on some convenient ground. Doubtless 
he had heard from the capital something about 
my official relation to the missionary movement 
there. From the language used by me in com- 
menting on the biblical scenes, he must have 
known that I was a Protestant ; but it was an al- 
together different matter to have personal deal- 
ings with the minister who some time before had 
introduced into the state his heretical teachings. 
In Cusihuiriachic, owing to the old feud between 
two parties which had resulted in the killing of 
the mayor, the adherents of one of them would 
not come to see the pictures I was showing in the 
covered court of a certain hotel which was often 
rented for public entertainments, because it be- 
longed to a prominent supporter of the other 
party. Therefore, in order to reach the entire 
community, it became necessary to show the views 
for some additional evenings in a less convenient 
locality which belonged to one of the first-named 



A TOURING EVANGELIST 151 

group. While we were still giving exhibitions in 
the hotel, it was arranged to have the pupils of 
the public school for girls attend on a certain 
evening. When they marched into the place a 
full hour before the appointed time, I thought 
there had been an unfortunate misunderstanding, 
which would result in the children growing weary 
and sleepy before we should be halfway through. 
Not at all. The teacher explained that her pupils 
were so eager to see what had been promised 
them, that they had assembled at the school at a 
very early hour ; and it was practicably impossible 
for her to keep them in order there for so long a 
period of waiting. Consequently she had brought 
them over to the hotel by way of a partial con- 
cession to their impatience. There they sat with 
respectful demeanor, quietly gazing at the white 
screen and wondering what was going to be done 
when the appointed hour should arrive. 

Everywhere on each evening was there a change 
of program, the miscellaneous views being pre- 
sented first, not too rapidly but with intervals of 
time sufficient to impart a good deal of informa- 
tion concerning each one. Then were shown pic- 
tures illustrative of the Bible. In San Pablo I 
obtained the consent of the padre himself to ex- 
plain some of the biblical pictures ; and these were 
shown to him in advance. But it was a rather 
lame performance on his part; for he did not 
seem to be familiar with the sacred Scriptures; 
nor did he talk about the pictures with anything 



162 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of the interest, not to say enthusiasm, which is 
essential to win and hold the attention of children. 
At one of the national assemblies of Sunday- 
school workers there was given a sample exhibi- 
tion of my pictures. At the close the Rev. Arcadio 
Morales, who for so many years has been the dean 
of the evangelical ministers resident in Mexico 
City, and who has done much evangelistic work in 
various parts of the country, remarked to me: 
^^In these pictures you have a wonderful instru- 
ment for presenting the truths of our religion to 
the public, and for making lasting impressions 
upon the minds and hearts of those who may see 
and hear.'' 



CHAPTER XI 

GATHERING A CHURCH AT THE STATE CAPITAL. 

Starting with a simple song service in Spanish 
in the spring of 1883, there had been steady prog- 
ress made in the Mexican work. Not only were 
there attendants at the chapel in sufficient number 
to organize a dignified church service and a Bible 
school ; but there were held regularly meetings in 
private houses in different sections of the city, 
for the benefit especially for such as felt reluctant 
to show themselves at the headquarters of the 
Protestants. Very early was established a weekly 
meeting for women, under the lead of the wife, 
for prayer and study of the Scriptures, and for 
instruction in methods for personal work. A 
number of women enrolled themselves as ^^ Will- 
ing Workers, ' ^ and at every meeting gave reports 
of their visits and conversations and distribution 
of religious literature. In some respects those 
meetings were the very heart of the work, the 
spiritual dynamo, generating power which sent its 
renovating, beneficent impulse in many directions. 

By the winter of 1885-6 there had been trans- 
lated into Spanish a constitution, confession of 
faith and form for admission to the church; and 

153 



154 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the believers had been gathered into a class for 
thorough instruction in matters pertaining to the 
Christian life. On the 24th of March, 1886, was 
organized the Church of the Holy Trinity con- 
sisting of twenty members ; and at the same time 
were named eight more as candidates to be re- 
ceived later. The name was chosen for the pur- 
pose of showing the falsity of the calumnies which 
were put in circulation by the priests, to the effect 
that we were ^^no better than Jews or infidels"; 
that we had an image of Christ which in our meet- 
ings we laid on the floor of our chapel and then 
marched around it in procession, at intervals spit- 
ting upon it to show our enmity. With the same 
object in view, of confounding our enemies, the 
Sunday-school of the First Congregational Church 
in Montclair, New Jersey, was requested to fur- 
nish me a bookmark for the pulpit Bible, that 
would keep in sight the symbol of our redemption ; 
and the friends were so good as to send a double 
mark, with a Greek cross hanging from one broad 
ribbon, and a Eoman from the other. 

Those charter members, and others who were 
added in the early years, were in the main per- 
sons of strong convictions and consecrated pur- 
pose, undismayed by petty persecution or by the 
more serious losses of friends and of the means 
of livelihood on account of their religious belief. 
One was the sister of a prominent banker. An- 
other was cousin to the cura who for more than 
thirty years had been in charge of the church 



GATHERING A CHURCH 155 

which afterward became the cathedral. The 
cousin owned a tannery employing a number of 
men. This man and his wife committed to mem- 
ory a large number of the gospel hymns and de- 
lighted to sing them ; and when they built a new 
place of residence, they invited us to hold there 
a kind of service of dedication. They were gen- 
erous givers to the church, and were unfailing 
attendants upon its services ; each of them being 
of such large size that we used to say that they 
alone almost filled one of the benches. Still others 
belonged to an influential family whose head, 
Colonel Orozco, had rendered important military 
service to the state, so that after his decease they 
were in receipt of a pension from the government. 
Still another was the son of a priest. He had 
been in business partnership with an Englishman 
who finally left him, because his wretched habit 
of intemperance threatened complete ruin to both. 
He had a charming wife, whom afterward we were 
wont to refer to as "tlcie elect lady,'' and beauti- 
ful children; yet strong drink had made a beast 
of him. However, he became interested in some 
of our books and papers, gained more knowledge 
of the truth through conversing with believers, 
and at length conquered his worst enemy. For 
some time he could not give up his favorite di- 
version of witnessing bullfights; but at last he 
made humble confession of faith in Christ, and 
fully cast in his lot with us. His progress in the 
new life was rapid. He took a class of boys in the 



156 LIFE UNDEm TWO FLAGS 

Bible school, became a member of the standing 
committee, and was elected treasurer of the 
church's benevolences. 

Before his reformation he was a ruined man 
j&nancially, having nothing but a few personal 
effects, and owing $3,000 to his creditors. Within 
a few years of his conversion he had built up a 
new business, had paid all his debts, and had de- 
posited with me for safe keeping the sum of 
$2,000. His bad habits had weakened his consti- 
tution, so that he was unable to survive an attack 
of pneumonia. But we never had any doubt as to 
the genuineness of the moral change; and the 
church deeply mourned the loss of one who, in his 
last hours when the mind wandered, called for his 
best clothes to be brought in order that he might 
present himself in the house of God. His brethren 
were confident that he had joined the company of 
them who are arrayed in white raiment. When 
wife and I read Harold Begbie's ^^ Twice Born 
Men," we seemed to be on quite familiar ground; 
for we ourselves had witnessed on the mission 
field moral and spiritual transformations of char- 
acter no less extraordinary than those described 
by the English writer. 

For a while after beginning the work, in accor- 
dance with the program usually followed in this 
country, we had worship with sermon both morn- 
ing and evening, and Sunday-school at another 
hour. But conditions pointed the way to a better 
plan. The people whom we succeeded in impress- 



GATHERING A CHURCH 157 

ing with our message were in great need of study- 
ing the book which most of them had never seen 
until we carried it to them. Furthermore, we 
could not start a Sunday-school for the children 
in the hope of winning through them the parents ; 
for, with few exceptions, we were unable to get 
hold of any children until their parents had been 
freed from the bondage of prejudice against the 
Protestants. 

But the parents or other adults were not easily 
persuaded to enter our place of assembly in the 
broad light of day. Such individuals were per- 
haps inclined to take the first step in our direction, 
after hearing of us from others or reading the lit- 
erature we distributed, by pausing under an open 
window or before the door at night within hear- 
ing distance, partly screened by the darkness. 
After making approaches of that kind for a while, 
the investigator might step quietly inside and 
slip into a rear seat. Many times in after years 
we met persons who informed us that, long before, 
they had stopped outside in the street to listen 
to the singing and the sermon. For the most part 
they were visitors to the city, having come from 
towns and ranches in other parts of the state; 
and they took advantage of being among stran- 
gers to satisfy their curiosity concerning the pe- 
culiar ways and teachings of the sect which the 
priests denounced in such emphatic terms. It was 
a novel sensation we experienced, finding our- 
selves put in the same class with questionable 



158 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

characters or diversions of ill repute, to be inves- 
tigated by people who did not wish to be seen 
doing it! 

We adopted the plan of having in the morning 
a Bible school for the whole congregation, and in 
the evening an evangelistic service with sermon. 
The afternoons were utilized in various ways, the 
main feature during many years being the Eng- 
lish service. At the same time for the Mexicans 
was held a meeting in some hall in another part 
of the city, or there were assemblies in private 
houses when these were placed at our disposal. 
After societies of Christian Endeavor had been 
organized, there were meetings for them. also. So 
it came about that for a considerable time the 
wife was accustomed to play on the reed organ 
accompaniments for five or six different meetings 
on Sunday, besides what she did in religious work 
during the week. For myself, during a period of 
twenty years, before competent native preachers 
had been educated for the task, it was necessary 
to superintend the Bible school, and teach a class 
of men in the morning, preach in English in the 
afternoon, and do pulpit work in Spanish at night. 

Three times during the first ten years were the 
congregations obliged to change their place of 
meeting, as they increased in numbers ; first from 
the sala of our residence to a commodious hall 
which belonged to the governor of the state, next 
to the enlarged assembly room of the mission com- 
pound, afterward given to the Golegio CMhuOr- 



GATHERING A CHURCH 159 

huense, and finally to the splendid edifice de- 
scribed in another chapter. 

From the first our Mexican brethren were en- 
couraged to contribute not only toward meeting 
the current expenses but also for accumulating a 
building fund. On one occasion, when I was preach- 
ing on the ^^Duty and Privilege of Christian Giv- 
ing," an elderly woman left her seat, walked to 
the front and laid on the pulpit a silver dollar. 
The preacher had not anticipated so prompt a 
response, which helped him to realize that the 
hearts of men and women in other lands are as 
sensitive to sincere appeal as are those of the 
people among whom we have been brought up; 
and that they can be persuaded to do their full 
share in sustaining Christian institutions, when 
they possess a genuine love for Christ and His 
Gospel. That woman of humble station had 
earned the dollar by washing clothes in the river, 
to which she had to carry also the few sticks of 
wood required for making a fire under the kettle, 
and then do the ironing at home. Her two sons 
were shoemakers who supplied their widowed 
mother's simple wants, and they were unwilling 
to have her toil so for other people. But she 
wanted to have money to give to her Lord's work, 
and she pursued the only method for earning it 
which was open to her. Later she purchased a 
large-print Bible and learned to read, in order 
that she by herself might explore the rich mines 
of truth in that book of books. Although the 



160 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

volume weighed six pounds, she always carried 
it to the Bible school. One day as she was passing 
along the street she was stoned by cowardly boys 
who had been taught to despise the Protestants, 
and she reached the church with blood flowing 
from a scalp wound. The attack resulted in her 
being confined to her bed for some time ; but she 
rallied from the shock and was spared for many 
years to bear witness to her faith by her joy in 
Christian service. 

There might be cited many similar instances of 
fidelity to the new cause which had been espoused, 
in spite of pecuniary losses and sufferings both 
physical and mental which resulted from that 
loyalty. In our experience there did not occur a 
single case of a convert's recanting during the 
last sickness and sending for a priest in order to 
confess to him and die in the communion of the 
Roman Catholic Church. On the contrary, in 
some instances the sick one took special precau- 
tions against being overcome in an hour of weak- 
ness by the pleadings of zealous friends and ad- 
herents of the old order. For example, there was 
a woman in our congregation who had a wide 
acquaintance among families of high social stand- 
ing and, as she was alone in the world, she lived 
with one of them. She wore a mantilla of black 
lace, and by her conversation as well as by her 
dress and manners showed that she was a perfect 
lady. When she fell seriously ill with what 
proved to be her last sickness, she feared what 



GATHERING A CHURCH 161 

might happen if she remained in a house to which 
the priests had ready access. So there was rented 
a room in another part of the city, to which she 
might be carried and there be waited upon by fel- 
low members of her church, and be allowed to die 
in peace ; and in that isolated retreat she breathed 
her last, trusting in her Savior. 



CHAPTER Xn 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 



On the twentieth of May, 1885, was opened onr 
first elementary school in the sala of a private 
residence belonging to an excellent Mexican family 
of our congregation, mentioned in a previous 
chapter as receiving a pension from the govern- 
ment on account of services rendered to the public 
by the deceased head of the household* A daugh- 
ter of the family was engaged as teacher, and she 
began with an enrollment of seven children, be- 
sides several older pupils who came to take music 
lessons of Mrs. Eaton. Thus was planted the 
seed which in process of time produced the vigor- 
ous tree that came to be known as the '^Colegio 
Chihuahuense/' which was a boarding and day 
school for girls, with a kindergarten and a pri- 
mary department for both sexes. But what gave 
special character and standing to the school was 
its normal department, from which graduated 
teachers who took high rank in both public and 
private schools. 

On the tenth of October was purchased the old 
Zaragoza Theater, which had been used for many 
years as the principal plaza de g alios (cockpit), 

162 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 163 

in connection with billiard hall, drinking saloon 
and rooms for card players. There was also a 
residence at the rear. The entire property meas- 
ured eighty feet by one hundred and fifty, run- 
ning through the small block and having two 
fronts, one of which was for the theater and the 
other for the dwelling. It could be fitted up to 
accommodate at the beginning both the school and 
a missionary family. But the tenant was unwill- 
ing to vacate the premises, and he engaged the 
best legal talent to support his contention that 
the purchaser had no right to eject him. The 
only practicable solution of the difficulty was for 
me to give him a lease for six months. There- 
after with great punctuality he paid the rent 
agreed upon, and this was credited to the account 
of the American Board; so that the treasury of 
that great missionary organization received 
money from the income of the cockpit and its 
drinking and gambling appendages. Was that 
*' tainted money"? It gave me a queer sensation 
to occupy for a brief period the position of land- 
lord of so disreputable a place. But that was in 
law the fact; because at that time, and for many 
succeeding years, the properties of the Board 
were held in my individual name. During that 
period we were favored with a visit from the 
Rev. Dr. Charles H. Richards, who was then pas- 
tor of the Central Church in Philadelphia. When 
he was taken to inspect the newly acquired real 
estate, which was to be transformed into a mission 



164 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

compound, there was a cockfight in progress. A 
few years after that, when Dr. Kichards invited 
me to tell his people about the work in Mexico, I 
revealed to them the fact that their beloved pas- 
tor had attended a cockfight when he was away 
from home ! 

In May the school was transferred to the new 
locality and put in charge of the first missionary 
teacher, a lady from Connecticut, and was given 
the name already mentioned. Three years later 
was added the boarding department ; but because 
the teacher who was then in charge did not feel 
equal to carrying the new responsibility, Mrs. 
Eaton volunteered to organize and carry on for 
a limited time that branch of the educational work, 
in addition to all that she was doing for the two 
congregations, Spanish and English. Conse- 
quently we left the residence which a Mexican 
gentleman had built for our use in a corner of his 
garden of trees and flowers, and moved into the 
school premises, expecting to be released and re- 
turn to our new home within six months. But we 
remained with the school for seven years, and did 
not have the opportunity of again living in that 
house with a garden. 

Another teacher came from our former congre- 
gation in New Jersey. An associate was secured 
from Hartford, Connecticut. She arrived on the 
day which had been designated for the inaugura- 
tion of a new State House which had been in 
process of building for ten years. The mission- 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 165 

ary family had received an elegantly printed in- 
vitation to attend the function; and of course the 
new recruit was invited to accompany us. After 
the formal program was finished, the evening was 
devoted to an inaugural ball. The stone pave- 
ment of the great inner court had been covered 
with canvas; and overhead, level with the roof 
of the building of two lofty stories, was stretched 
another canvas, thus converting the entire patio 
into an immense hall of assembly which was util- 
ized for the purposes of the inauguration. This 
same hall then became a dancing pavilion. As- 
cending to the corridors of the second story, we 
tarried for a while to look down upon the gay 
scene. It was a novelty to see hundreds of Mex- 
ican gentlemen in evening dress ; while the toilets 
of the ladies, presenting a great variety of colors, 
made the groups below resemble a garden with 
beds of flowers. What kind of an impression 
would have been made by an announcement in the 
next number of ^^Life and Light '^ that their re- 
cently commissioned missionary had spent her 
first evening on the foreign field in attendance 
upon a ball? 

But very significant and gratifying to us was 
that change in public sentiment, from one of 
aversion and fear, caused by religious prejudice, 
to one of real friendliness which led the authori- 
ties to feel justified in including us among those 
who were to receive an official invitation. Even 
years before this event, some liberally inclined 



166 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

students of the State College had invited ns to 
attend the graduation of their class, and ventured 
to ask Mrs. Eaton for the loan of her piano to be 
used in the musical part of the program. And 
at another time the principal requested me to 
serve as examiner of the classes in English at the 
close of the year, marking their standing in that 
branch of study for the official record. Usually 
also I attended the annual celebration of Mexican 
Independence, on the Sixteenth of September, in 
company with a few other Americans and repre- 
sentatives of other nationalities, such as the Brit- 
ish, French, Spanish and German. We went first 
to the governor's reception room to meet that 
official, and then walked with him in procession to 
the place appointed for the public speaking. This 
helped to promote relations of comity between the 
sister republics, and at the same time tended to 
show that the religious convictions of the Protes- 
tants in no way interfered with their sincere re- 
spect for the civil authorities and their wish to 
cooperate heartily with them in their efforts to 
administer the government so as to maintain lib- 
erty under law and thus further the public wel- 
fare. 

Soon after the school had been domiciled in the 
reformed Zaragoza Theater, we began to hold the 
religious services in its main assembly room. 
Just across the street, and almost fronting the 
entrance, was a notorious house kept by Ameri- 
can women. The sounds of revelry which in the 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 167 

early evening issued through its open windows 
were extremely disturbing to our worshiping con- 
gregation; so that even on the hottest nights of 
summer we were obliged to close our own windows 
on that side, to secure partial protection against 
the annoyance. We learned that there existed a 
city ordinance forbidding the establishment of 
such resorts within a certain distance of any 
school. Therefore, we respectfully requested the 
mayor of that day to enforce the ordinance, tak- 
ing what steps might be necessary for abating the 
nuisance and grave menace to good morals. But 
his contention was that the resort had been estab- 
lished there before our school was opened. 

The next step was to ask the governor who was 
holding office then, to use his influence with the 
mayor in our behalf; all in vain. Then was it 
determined, since we could not obtain justice, to 
plead for mercy. After consultation with a Mex- 
ican gentleman, there was drawn up a petition to 
that end; and I started out to obtain the signa- 
tures of the most prominent citizens and selected 
persons of the foreign colonies, but especially the 
former. Among those secured in the course of a 
few days were the names of attorneys, physicians, 
merchants, bankers, teachers and other classes in 
society. Even the highest dignitary of the Roman 
Catholic Church was approached. He received 
me in his study, surrounded by his books; and 
when he had heard my story, without a word of 
objection he reached for a pen and appended his 



168 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

signature. A judge of the federal district was 
visited at his place of residence, readily signed 
the petition, and then summoned his wife to add 
her own name. Two other Mexican ladies, admit- 
ting me to their house for the first time, thanked 
me heartily for giving them a chance to sign such 
a document. When a leading banker who was ac- 
quainted with all persons of influence in that cap- 
ital city, and who at the outset had given me his 
signature, was shown my list of one hundred and 
twenty-five signatories, he said there was no need 
of trying to add any more to the imposing array ; 
for if the governor would not grant their petition, 
he could not be persuaded by a larger number. 

Another Mexican banker accompanied by the 
American Consul, both of them Eoman Catholics 
in name, offered to carry the petition to the gov- 
ernor. They reported that he had received it and 
promised to give it his attention. But the days 
passed, no reply of any sort was made, and in the 
end the official did nothing. He dared not grant 
the request, because to do so would displease his 
friend the mayor; nor did he venture to refuse the 
reasonable petition of so many influential people ; 
therefore he simply pigeonholed the document. 
However, within a few months this man and the 
mayor retired from office, the latter being suc- 
ceeded by one of the petitioners, who in fact had 
sold to me the old theater ; and one of his earliest 
official acts was to order the abatement of that 
public nuisance. The failure of his predecessor 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 169 

to enforce for our protection the municipal ordi- 
nance was really a blessing in disguise ; for it dis- 
closed a kindly feeling for ns that was widespread, 
and brought us into relations with some persons 
whom we had scarcely known before. 

When the governor whom we Americans 
cheered at our celebration of the Fourth of July 
was requested by the Spanish consul, whose wife 
was the daughter of a Mexican family of the high- 
est social rank, to recommend a young woman for 
the place of governess in his own family, the 
choice of the former fell upon one of our gradu- 
ates who was teaching in a government school. 
But she declined the offered position with thanks, 
explaining that she enjoyed her present work, and 
that she did not care to face the uncertainty of 
being able to satisfy those who would employ her 
in an unaccustomed task. The governor then 
begged her to accept, as a personal favor to him- 
self, assuring her that in case she were not re- 
tained as governess, he would see to her reinstate- 
ment in the public schools. She yielded to his 
plea, and was highly successful in the new task. 

At the close of her first year she held an exami- 
nation of the little pupils in their home, to which 
were invited not only the Eoman Catholic rela- 
tives of the family, but also her beloved principal 
and an associated missionary teacher of our 
school. At the close of the function our ladies 
were returned to the school in the closed carriage 
of a banker brother-in-law of the consul. Yet a 



170 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

young American woman who had preceded onr 
graduate in the position of governess and who 
sometimes attended our church services in Eng- 
lish, was forbidden by the consul's wife even to 
speak to Mrs. Eaton on the street, if she happened 
to have with her at the time the children of that 
family. But the new governess, who was a mem- 
ber of our Mexican church, actually called at our 
residence, bringing with her the same children, 
for the purpose of inviting my wife to attend the 
examination. What a wonderful transformation 
in the attitude of that household toward the indi- 
viduals who were regarded as in a sense official 
representatives of Protestantism! 

The graduation exercises of the successive 
classes of the Colegio Chihuahuense were held in 
the spacious church edifice, and were largely at- 
tended by persons not connected with our con- 
gregation. The Mexican's passion for music was 
gratified by engaging a small orchestra to play 
compositions of the best class, in addition to the 
songs given by the school; and usually some 
prominent man was secured to make an address. 
One year the speaker was the principal of the 
largest private school for boys; another time it 
was a leading physician. 

There were several village schools aided by the 
mission in distant parts of the state, which served 
as feeders to the boarding department ; and grad- 
uates who became wives and mothers, in after 
years sent their children to have a share in the 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 171 

privileges which they themselves had enjoyed. 
Educational influences of another sort were also 
set in motion. Even before the beginning of the 
school, there was organized by my wife in behalf 
of the women a society for making over old gar- 
ments, and offering them for sale together with 
used clothing which had been donated by friends 
in United States, on which occasions preference 
would be shown to those who belonged to the so- 
ciety, in order that they might have the chance to 
purchase what was desired before the public 
should be admitted. In this way they learned 
needed lessons in thrift and economy, and were 
able from the receipts of their treasury to aid in 
sustaining the church to which they owed so much. 
Furthermore, both church and school were in 
fact, though not in name, organizations for pro- 
moting education in the matter of abstaining from 
the use of intoxicating drinks. When the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union sent Mrs. Addie N. 
Fields to Mexico to organize branch societies, it did 
not seem worth while to install extra machinery 
under that name, when we were already engaged 
in propagating the same principles. At one time 
we persuaded an excellent Mexican physician to 
address a large assembly in our church concerning 
the evils caused by drinking wines and liquors, 
from his professional standpoint. On another 
occasion I got the editor and publisher of the daily 
newspaper of largest circulation in the city, who 
was an advocate of temperance, to prepare for us 



172 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

an address on the same general subject. As the 
time announced for the special assemblage drew 
near, inquiry was made as to his readiness for 
delivering the address. At once he brought to me 
the completed manuscript, but could not be in- 
duced to read it himself in church, making the plea 
that he did not possess a voice for public speak- 
ing. While this was disappointing, it did not al- 
together surprise me, because he was a faithful 
Eoman Catholic and a close friend of the bishop 
of that diocese. However, he did publish the ad- 
dress in full in his paper the day after our meet- 
ing, acknowledging its authorship, and stating 
that it had been read the evening before in Trinity 
Church by Don Santiago D. Eaton. 

One year a botanist, who had been devoting 
years to the collecting of specimens of the flora 
of Mexico and preparing them for the museums 
of universities in this country and in Europe, sug- 
gested to me that it would be desirable to obtain 
for the college of the state as complete a collec- 
tion as possible of the plants growing within its 
borders. It was not practicable to get an appro- 
priation to cover the expense, because the legis- 
lature was not in session. But my good friend 
the banker, who had given such valuable help in 
the matter of the petition to have a certain nui- 
sance abated, and in later years was to aid us in 
yet more important ways, guaranteed that the 
cost should be met. At the close of the season 
he decided to pay the bill himself. Then was he 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 173 

asked to allow Ms name to appear on the mounted 
specimens. To this he made strenuous objection 
at first, but yielded to my plea that it was impor- 
tant to accustom his countrymen to the idea of 
devoting some portion of their wealth to the edu- 
cation of the public, not leaving all of the task to 
be done by means of taxation. Consequently each 
one of the beautifully mounted specimens which 
filled the drawers of a large wooden case bore a 
label on which was printed not only the botanical 
name and the habitat of the plant, but also a line 
saying (in Spanish), ^^The Gift of ." 

When President Diaz called upon all the states 
of the Eepublic to make contributions toward a 
Mexican exhibit for the Exposition in Paris, that 
botanical collection was lent for the purpose, as 
being one of the best things our state could fur- 
nish. But when the articles were returned from 
Paris to the Federal Government, the superb col- 
lection was kept in Mexico City, very likely be- 
cause the authorities felt it was too valuable to 
be hidden away in a college located in a border 
state. 

In the year 1909 was obtained permission from 
the American Board to sell the old property down 
town, and use the proceeds, with the addition of 
donations it was hoped to secure from friends, to 
cover the cost of an enlarged campus and a new 
building. But it seemed inadvisable to sell the 
old plant before securing a new site, lest the 
school be left ^4n the air'^ as the Spanish phrase 



174 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

has it; i.e., without a home in which to continue 
its work. Soon there presented itself, in a sur- 
prising way, an opportunity to purchase from a 
highly connected family which had lost its head 
through death, two-thirds of a block situated on 
high ground near the State Industrial School 
(separated from the latter by a street one hun- 
dred feet in width) ; and this was secured by loans 
from friends. The revolution against President 
Diaz prevented disposal of the old property to 
advantage, but this was just as well; because 
when there occurred an exchange of certain fields 
of labor between the Board of Foreign Missions 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the 
American Board, involving the transfer of all our 
interests in the state of Chihuahua to the former, 
the old plant was remodeled and repaired to make 
it suitable for a Christian Social Center. The 
building which was erected on the new campus in 
the year 1915, is now occupied by a school for 
boys ; while girls are cared for in the long-estab- 
lished Methodist school. Their chapel has been 
converted into a gymnasium; and the evangelical 
Christians of both missions now are one body 
meeting for worship in the capacious and cen- 
trally located Trinity Church. 

Our Methodist brethren are maintaining a force 
of a dozen or more workers in that city, having 
added to the church and schools and social center, 
a hospital, and a printing plant from which issues 
their own periodical. In view of this generous 



PROMOTING EDUCATION 175 

provision for meeting the religious, educational 
and social needs of the people of that region, we, 
who could not help feeling keenly the sundering 
of the old ties which had been forming through 
the more than thirty years of residence and of 
labor for both citizens and foreigners in that 
state, are now able to say, in the manner of those 
who are in the fellowship of the Free Methodists 
in Southern California, ^^ Praise the Lord." For 
we have been made to realize anew the truth of 
what Saint Paul wrote: ^^I have planted, Apollos 
watered; but God gave the increase." As was 
said by the Master himself, ^^He that soweth and 
he that reapeth may rejoice together." 



CHAPTER XIII 

A BOOK BUSINESS AND BELATED ACTIVITIES 

Foe the first two years of our residence in 
Mexico, before the completion of the Mexican 
Central Eailway to the capital, it was convenient 
to obtain our supplies of the Scriptures directly 
from the American Bible Society in New York; 
and soon we had acquired by purchase a consid- 
erable stock of their publications in Spanish, and 
a limited variety of volumes in English to meet 
the needs of our own countrymen. Also were the 
resources of the American Tract Society drawn 
upon ; and as the work developed, it became neces- 
sary to order books, in both Spanish and English, 
which were published by various firms, especially 
D. Appleton and Company and the American 
Book Company, until the stock on hand filled sev- 
eral large bookcases. 

While at the beginning our orders were sent 
through the American Board, for the purpose of 
securing the lowest wholesale rates from the re- 
spective publishers, as the sales increased the 
firms consented to allow me the largest discounts 
for export which were granted to anybody; and 

176 



A BOOK BUSINESS 177 

open accounts were carried with the houses men- 
tioned, payments being made monthly. In order 
to save time, to obviate trouble and expense at 
the border custom-house, and to avoid the incon- 
venience of keeping on hand a large stock of pub- 
lications, it was found expedient to have all books 
sent by mail. 

Among our best customers were the teachers 
and pupils of private schools; and many indi- 
viduals were glad of the chance to obtain through 
my instrumentality, and within a very short time, 
volumes which were not to be had in the few and 
small bookstores of the city. Some of the public 
schools also drew upon our resources to a greater 
or less extent. In one instance the administration 
of public instruction suggested that a bid be made 
by me, in common with other dealers, on a lot of 
eight hundred or a thousand copies of a certain 
text-book published by the Appletons. Accord- 
ingly there was sent in an estimate which would 
yield a small profit; and, greatly to my surprise, 
my bid was accepted. There was a steady demand 
for ^^ methods'' for learning both English and 
Spanish, for dictionaries in both languages and, 
on the part of private schools, for English read- 
ers. The local booksellers soon found out that 
they could purchase of me all such books at a 
price about equal to what it would cost them to 
import the same; and all they had to do was to 
dispatch a messenger to my house for a few copies 
at a time. The special rate allowed them still 



178 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

left a margin of eight to ten per cent to aid the 
mission work. 

But the principal advantage resulting from this 
little business was the opportunity it afforded for 
extending acquaintance and gaining friends for 
our work. It also served to do away with much 
of the foolish prejudice against us. The prin- 
cipal of one of the private schools, who in his re- 
ligious opinions was a decided liberal, told me 
that some of his pupils objected to buying their 
text-books of the missionary, but that he insisted 
upon their going in person to make the purchase, 
rather than avail themselves of the agency of a 
good-natured schoolmate, for the express purpose 
of bringing about a change in their silly attitude 
of aversion. 

To the book business was added a special de- 
partment for a period of eight years, during 
which time I was publication agent for the Na- 
tional Christian Endeavor Union; and there was 
kept on hand a supply of all the material pro- 
vided in the Spanish language for this movement, 
such as the different model constitutions, pledge 
cards, booklets and tracts. All prices were put 
at the lowest possible figure that would enable us 
to get the articles to our customers without loss. 
For two or three years I entered into an arrange- 
ment with the Endeavor ers in Spain, for the joint 
publication of a Christian Endeavor Handbook 
containing notes on the prayer-meeting topics and 
valuable hints for the conduct of different depart- 



A BOOK BUSINESS 179 

ments of the work of local societies. I ordered 
seven hundred copies, advertised them thoroughly 
by sending samples to the evangelical periodicals, 
and disposed of them all; so that it was possible 
at the next national convention to hand over to 
the treasurer a few dollars of profit. 

Orders for Christian Endeavor material came 
to me from all parts of the Eepublic, from so- 
cieties scattered throughout several states in the 
southwestern part of our own country, from Cuba 
and Porto Eico, from several countries of South 
America, and even from Guam and the Philip- 
pines. These orders and some of the letters which 
enclosed them were of intense interest to me, 
making the extra work a delight and in no sense 
a burden. The printed matter was not enough; 
for the Endeavorers wanted to wear the emblem 
of the society. It was not practicable to obtain 
the pins from the headquarters in Boston, where 
the prices were in American gold. So we had 
them made in Mexico City by Mexican workmen 
who used silver taken from the native mines, 
through the interposition of the Eev. Arcadio 
Morales who in his youth had learned the trade 
of a silversmith. When the Endeavorers of New 
Mexico invited me to attend their annual conven- 
tion held in Santa Fe in December of 1900, to re- 
port for them the London Convention, I carried 
with me a lot of those Christian Endeavor pins, 
all of which were purchased with avidity because 



180 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

they were regarded in the light of interesting 
souvenirs. 

When the Eev. Dr. William H. Gnlick, for 
many years a missionary of the American Board 
at Madrid, learned of the amount received in one 
year at Chihuahua for all kinds of publications, 
he wrote me that he doubted whether the annual 
receipts from sales by all the evangelical agencies 
in Spain would equal it. But the conditions in 
the respective countries were very different. In 
the former case we were dealing with a people 
who had been emancipated by the Eeform Laws 
from the official domination of the Eoman Catho- 
lic hierarchy (although their Declaration of In- 
dependence, which was adopted in 1810, stipulated 
that the only religion to be tolerated in the new 
Eepublic should be that of the Holy Catholic 
Apostolic Eoman Church), who had been liberal- 
ized to some extent by their contact with Ameri- 
cans, and who probably had a better income than 
did those to whom the missionary forces in Spain 
had access. 

In those days, before the adoption of the Cin- 
cinnati Plan for division of territory, each one 
of the denominations at work in the Eepublic had 
its own periodical ; and we encouraged our breth- 
ren and acquaintances to subscribe for several of 
the leading ones. An uneducated local preacher 
who was put in charge of a certain district was 
able to multiply his efl&ciency many times by ob- 
taining subscribers to those journals, placing a 



A BOOK BUSINESS 181 

large share of them in families not connected in 
any way with our small congregations, with the 
result that those evangelical papers made monthly, 
semi-monthly or weekly visits to homes which 
would not receive him as a visitor. During a stay 
of a few days in the mining town of Cusi- 
huiriachic I placed more than one hundred sub- 
scriptions to the Presbyterian paper, ^^El Faro,^' 
which was the denomination we favored most, out- 
side of our own ^^El Testigo," and which was the 
first to be printed with illustrations. 

One branch of the business which consumed a 
good deal of time was that of supplying publica- 
tions to one or more colporteurs at work under the 
supervision of our particular station. Even to 
employ one man involved considerable bookkeep- 
ing ; for it was necessary to open both a book ac- 
count and a cash account with him, and also keep 
both kinds of account with the Mexico City Agency 
of the American Bible Society, and all four ac- 
counts were rendered monthly. 

For a good while we had as colporteur an 
American who had intended to join a faith mission 
in China. Instead he came to Mexico hoping to 
make a living while preaching the gospel. He ar- 
rived at our house unannounced and with all his 
worldly possessions contained in two handbags. 
Inquiry as to his expected means of support elic- 
ited the laconic response, as he pointed to a Bible 
lying on my table, ' ' That is my check book. '^ We 
could do no less than provide him with food and 



182 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

shelter for a time. He was ready to tackle any 
kind of a job, and fonnd work on our division of 
the railroad as a member of the ^^ bridge gang.'^ 
This often involved working in the water, some- 
times with his body half immersed; so that he had 
a fit of sickness and was obliged to go to the hos- 
pital. Bnt he managed to get into circulation 
among the laborers a good many copies of the 
Scriptures ; so that we recommended him for em- 
ployment by the Bible Agency. 

As colporteur he made a thorough canvass of 
the three northwestern states and the territory 
of Lower California, enduring many hardships 
with a truly heroic spirit, and disposing of a great 
many books besides those supplied by the Agency. 
While he was working along the west coast, where 
as yet were no lines of railroad, we availed our- 
selves of the federal telegraph which connected all 
towns of any importance and saved us much time 
and expense. We invented a secret code which en- 
abled the man to send a large order for publica- 
tions and yet not exceed ten words, a single letter 
indicating a book of a particular size and binding. 
At an average cost of only thirty or forty cents 
in gold, he could advise me in an hour's time of his 
needs in Sonora or Sinaloa. One of his orders 
stands out in my memory because it required al- 
most a day's labor on my part, to select the wide 
variety of books, enter them on account, wrap 
them securely for shipping by mail, address the 
packages, weigh them and affix the proper amount 



A BOOK BUSINESS 183 

of stamps. The resulting product was forty-seven 
parcels of about four pounds each. Not all of 
them were delivered at the post office at one time, 
lest they cause great inconvenience to the mail car- 
riers in a sparsely settled region; but they were 
divided into four lots, and dispatched during as 
many days in succession. To the honor of Mex- 
ico's postal service, it should be added that all of 
them reached their destination. 



CHAPTER XIV 

AN EEA OF CHUKCH BUILDING 

Foe a long time it had not been possible to se- 
cure a suitable site for the erection of a church 
edifice. At the very beginning were noticed some 
lots situated near the upper end of Avenida Inde- 
pendencia, upon which stood a small adohe build- 
ing bearing upon its front wall the sign, ^^Socie- 
dad Mutualista de Obreros," and which would be 
admirably adapted to our purpose. But the 
mayor informed me that the city owned the prop- 
erty, and had granted to that society free use of 
the premises on condition that it teach mechanical 
trades to others besides its own members. 

One morning in the year 1889, I observed some 
federal soldiers at work with pickaxes and other 
tools leveling to the ground that part of the wall 
enclosing the grounds of the Mutual Society of 
Workmen which obstructed the view up Indepen- 
dence Avenue. Inquiry elicited the information 
that the avenue, which at that point turned to the 
right, was to be carried straight through to the 
Alameda; and that the city government had can- 
celed its agreement with the workmen, on the 
ground that they had not fulfilled their part of the 



n 

d 

a 



o 



o 

S 
S 

d 
> 

d 
> 




AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 185 

contract, and had sold the part not required for 
opening the street to certain private parties, who 
had divided it into three lots. 

Either one of the three, all facing the ave- 
nue, would be a fine location for a church, since 
they were on an elevated site, about four hundred 
yards distant from the main plaza, and almost at 
the geographical center of the city, although out- 
side of the business district. But my choice was 
for the one on the corner of Coronado Street, and 
thus nearest to the plaza, besides facing two 
streets. Fortunately that lot was owned by a fed- 
eral judge who had already given proof of his 
friendship for me ; and it was not long before he 
had executed a deed of sale of the coveted site 
for a very moderate sum, which was advanced 
from private funds. 

It may be explained here that a wise rule of the 
American Board forbids its missionaries to pur- 
chase with mission funds real estate for its use, 
or to contract for such purchase, without previous 
permission from headquarters. Therefore we 
bought the lot at our own risk, feeling sure that 
such a wonderful opportunity ought not to be lost; 
and word was sent at once to Secretary Clark of 
the chance to purchase a fine site at a low figure. 
He replied with the suggestion that, if possible, 
I get the refusal of it for a while until the Pruden- 
tial Committee could take action. He was then 
told that the property in question had come into 



186 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the possession of an American resident who was 
willing to wait a reasonable length of time. 

According to the terms of the sale by the munic- 
ipality the purchaser was obligated to begin build- 
ing on the land within one year. The expiration 
of that time limit approached ; and as yet no action 
had been taken in Boston. Therefore in order to 
preserve our title, we had to make a further out- 
lay. We built on the rear part of the lot a small 
dwelling of three rooms which might in time be 
occupied by the janitor of the church edifice to 
be. Then the owner of the adjoining lot offered 
to sell it to me, suggesting that a church would 
need a site of ampler dimensions. When his offer 
was declined, on the score of lack of funds suffi- 
cient for utilizing two lots, he asked me to lend him 
money on his note secured by mortgage on the lot. 
This appealed to me, because the site would be 
so admirable for a boys' school, if the Board 
should decide to establish one, or for a missionary 
residence ; and we lent him the amount he named, 
which was less than we had paid for the corner lot. 

In the year 1890 District Secretary A. N. Hitch- 
cock of Chicago visited our mission; and we 
showed him the wonderful site with the adobe 
house on it, telling him the whole story. He was so 
deeply interested that soon after his return home 
he wrote offering to obtain funds for the purchase 
on a certain condition, which was accepted. Soon 
was he able to report the entire amount pledged, 
and a surplus of $125 for the building fund. With- 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 187 

in a week came a letter from Boston with the good 
news that $1000 had been appropriated for the 
same object. In the bank had accumulated toward 
the building fund another $1000. Evidently the 
time had arrived for proposing to take into part- 
nership with us our friends in the home land, more 
especially those in Montclair ; and leave of absence 
for some months was obtained for the purpose of 
interviewing them, the entire trip to be made at 
our own charges. 

Chicago architects were visited and engaged to 
draw plans for a building. They were asked to 
make it as large as possible for the money, and 
with high walls like those of the Roman Catholic 
churches. Also it was arranged with them to 
place in the wide recess behind the pulpit a group 
of five lancet windows similar to those in the chapel 
of Beloit College ; and to show in some prominent 
way the symbol of our redemption. It was stipu- 
lated that there should be a roomy vestibule in 
which the curious might stand to look and listen, 
without committing themselves so far as to take 
seats inside with the congregation. 

The specifications called for a structure seventy- 
five feet in length by fifty-four in width, having 
walls thirty feet in height and a flat roof. The 
drawing showed an octagonal tower on the corner, 
twenty feet in diameter, rising twenty feet above 
the roof and terminating in a spire fifteen feet 
higher, or sixty-five feet in all. The main en- 
trance was through the tower, under three arches 



188 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of stone which were closed by means of iron gates. 
The floor of the vestibule was of stone, like the 
sidewalks on both streets, and was practically an 
extension of these. On one side double doors gave 
access to the main auditorium; while on another 
was the entrance to the chapel. On the remaining 
three sides in place of baseboards were slabs of 
dressed stone. Thus it would not matter if water 
should flow in during a driving rainstorm. In 
order that passersby might not mistake our edifice 
for a Roman Catholic church, the architects re- 
frained from placing a cross on the spire, but they 
ingeniously left a cross-shaped opening in the wall 
of the tower above each one of the three arches 
spanning the entrance. Thus both in the number 
of the arches and in the thrice-repeated symbol 
above them we seemed to have architectural fea- 
tures in harmony with the ancient doctrine of the 
Trinity, which had been recalled in choosing that 
name for the church that was organized six years 
before. 

Inside, the vaulted ceiling rose to a height of 
twenty-five feet, concealing the heavy trusses of 
timbers and iron rods which supported the roof. 
The four walls were protected by a wainscoting 
six feet in height. All the woodwork was of Texas 
pine, oiled and varnished. Light in abundance 
was admitted through eight large, triple windows 
with Roman arches ; three of the windows on each 
side, and two in front for the chapel. The arched 
portions of each, as well as the entire windows 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 189 

in the recess behind the pulpit, were filled with 
leaded cathedral glass, finer than that possessed 
by any other building in the city. To please the 
native taste, warm colors were selected ; while the 
lancet windows were further enriched with pic- 
tures and adornments. In the central one of these 
was seen an open Bible, since our chief endeavor 
was to get that book into the hands of the people. 
In those on either side were the first and the last 
letters of the Greek alphabet, recalling Him who is 
represented as saying, ^^I am alpha and omega, the 
first and the last. ' ' In the middle of the first and 
of the fifth was a pure white lily; while all five 
were decorated with imitations of precious stones 
— rubies, topazes and diamonds. 

An immense amount of dressed stone was to be 
used in the structure, although the chief material 
for the walls, two feet in thickness, was to be 
adobe; for a cornice of stone five feet in height 
was carried along the top of the walls on the two 
street fronts, besides three feet at the bottom, 
between the water table and the foundation. Be- 
sides the stone and adohe, there were brought 
from Texas five carloads of lumber. 

The responses from friends who saw the archi- 
tects ' plans were most cheering. Those in Mont- 
clair promised $2500, increased by later gifts of 
the bell and pulpit furniture to $3000. Relatives 
took a generous share in the enterprise. The 
superintendent of a Sunday-school in New Haven, 
who had visited us years before and was so in- 



190 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

terested by what he saw that he sent $100 to the 
Board for our work, gave $300. A lady member of 
our church in Bound Brook, who had also seen 
our work on the field, sent her check for the same 
amount. The donor of the gymnasium for Beloit 
College, when he was asked by letter for a certain 
sum, remitted it immediately. These are but a 
few of the instances which might be mentioned; 
but they serve to show from how many quarters 
came the needed aid. 

An American resident who was both a mason 
and a carpenter, and accustomed to employ Mexi- 
can labor, and had built two churches in the United 
States, contracted to build the church on very 
reasonable terms ; and in February, 1892, ground 
was broken for the foundations which were laid 
broad and deep, ^Hhe best in the city'' being the 
declaration of a banker who inspected them. At 
first the priests caused us annoyance by frighten- 
ing away some of the common laborers ; but soon 
the contractor had all the men he wanted, and he 
remarked upon the change in public sentiment 
which grew more favorable from day to day. As 
a prominent visitor from the United States put 
the case, when the building was nearing comple- 
tion, ^^The erection of so noble an edifice on this 
sightly location for the Protestant Church is prob- 
ably equivalent to the maintenance here of an ad- 
ditional missionary family.'' 

The digging of the trenches for the foundation 
brought to light the contents of ancient graves; 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 191 

for the site was part of the first cemetery of the 
town, (from which all monuments had long since 
been removed), and dated back more than two 
hundred years, having been called El Campo 
Santo de San Felipe. An attorney, scion of one 
of the oldest families, who accepted my invitation 
to inspect the interior of the finished edifice in 
after years, remarked, while we were studying the 
details of a memorial window :^^ Ancestors of mine 
are buried here ; the graves in this place hold the 
bodies of generals and governors." We kept out 
of sight, as far as possible, the human bones and 
bits of coffins, and buried them again at the base 
of the foundation wall. Nevertheless, since the 
earth which was taken from the trenches was made 
into adobes for use in the structure, it is the literal 
truth that some portions of the dust of the early 
inhabitants who were adherents of the Roman 
Catholic Church (because the old cemetery was 
consecrated ground and under ecclesiastical con- 
trol, as the places for burial are not now), were 
built into the walls of Trinity Church, where 
assemble for worship Protestants, whose lifeless 
bodies even would not be suffered to pollute 
sacred earth, if the religious hierarchy were al- 
lowed to dominate everything, as it did before 
the adoption of the Reform Laws of 1857. 

The lancet windows above the pulpit platform 
were furnished by my brother-in-law, Mr. John 
Barnes Pratt, in memory of his mother ; and in the 



192 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

vestibule was placed by his father a large tablet 
of bronze bearing the inscription: 

^^En Memoria de 

Adeline Barnes Pratt 

Quien Amaba a los Mexicanos 

Se Ha Constrnido Este Templo Cristiano 

A la Gloria de Dios 

A.D. 1892/' 

Although Mrs. Pratt had never visited that 
country, and had passed into the higher life only 
four years after our missionary work began, she 
was deeply interested in all efforts put forth for 
the elevation of the people, following closely the 
progress of the work, becoming acquainted 
through correspondence with the names and to 
some extent with the personal history of individ- 
uals concerned in it, and offering suggestions of 
value to the workers. Therefore was it eminently 
fitting that, by permission of the American Board, 
her name should be linked with the noble edifice 
which crowned as with a diadem the first ten years 
of labor. 

In the upper chamber of the tower was placed 
a sonorous bell weighing a thousand pounds. Mr. 
Clinton H. Meneeley wrote me a letter stating that 
it had been cast to order as one of a chime for 
Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York, but that 
it was shipped to us because it was of the exact 
weight we had ordered, and we had expressed the 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 193 

desire of getting it as soon as possible, in order 
that it might be rung for the dedication. He 
added that there was still abundance of time in 
which to cast another for the famous cathedral. 
We raised in Chihuahua $150 to cover freight and 
custom-house charges ; but the bell was donated by 
the Sunday-school of the First Congregational 
Church of Montclair. This fact is stated by an 
inscription stippled on its convex surface, while 
underneath and nearer the mouth of the bell are 
the words, ^^Let him that heareth say. Come.'' In 
the wall around that octagonal chamber are six- 
teen open arches through which is obtained a mag- 
nificent panoramic view of the city and the sur- 
rounding plains and mountains, without a single 
building high enough to obstruct the vision of a 
complete horizon; and through those arches, dur- 
ing thirty years past, have been sounding out the 
words of invitation which many have heeded. 

For the dedication on the evening of November 
12, seats for five hundred people were crowded 
close together, leaving at the rear a large part 
of the floor available for standing room. Hand- 
somely printed invitations, signed by citizens of 
four different countries — Mexico, the United 
States, England and Germany — ^had been sent 
widely to families outside the congregation, to 
serve as cards of admission to be presented at 
the door. In anticipation of the great crowd that 
was sure to assemble, we asked for police protec- 
tion; and two officers were sent to guard the en- 



194 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

trance at the outer gates. Seven hundred were 
admitted, and the number might have been nearer 
one thousand, had it not been for the timidity of 
our untrained ushers who failed to keep open the 
passageway. Late comers with invitations in 
hand, seeing the throng pressing against the gates, 
supposed there was no more room inside, and tried 
to content themselves with hearing what they 
could through the open windows. 

Back of the pulpit were draped the flags of the 
four nations already mentioned. Supported on an 
easel at one side was a large crayon portrait of 
the lady in whose memory the church had been 
built. In the audience were representatives of all 
classes, government officials, professional men, 
merchants and artisans ; and the attendance of a 
large number of ladies was especially gratifying. 
The music was furnished by an orchestra and 
four vocalists. Seated on the platform were seven 
ministers ; but before these should take any part, 
there was presented a preparatory program of un- 
usual character. Seiior Zapata, superintendent of 
public instruction, expressed hearty appreciation 
of our efforts in behalf of education. Don Tito 
Arriola, an attorney and a member of the state 
legislature, spoke of man's need of religion; and 
he rapidly sketched the history of Christianity, re- 
ferring to Luther and the Eeformation, the abuses 
committed by the Inquisition, the happier day of 
freedom of worship, and the modern effort to gain 
converts not by the sword but by the persuasive- 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 195 

ness of the truth. He closed by saying, in Spanish 
of course : ''The Evangelical Church is a powerful 
aid to our progress, founding schools, publishing 
periodicals, and extending civilization among our 
people. It has relieved poverty, furnished em- 
ployment to labor, beautified our cities by the erec- 
tion of modern edifices, and deepened the senti- 
ment of patriotism in the hearts of our people. 
Such conduct gives to the ministers of this com- 
munion legitimate title to the respect and grati- 
tude of every good Mexican, and justifies the 
favorable reception accorded to this church by the 
citizens of Chihuahua, a considerable number of 
whom attend its services under the protection of 
the laws which guarantee freedom of worship.'^ 

Both speakers were heartily applauded; and it 
seemed wonderful indeed that such influential men 
should be willing to stand on the same platform 
with Protestant ministers, and utter such senti- 
ments to an assemblage of which the majority 
were nominally Roman Catholics. A brief sketch 
of the life and character of Mrs. Pratt was read 
by another gentleman who also was an educator. 
The sermon was by Rev. John Howland of Guada- 
lajara, on Spiritual Worship. For the act of dedi- 
cation the entire audience arose, and remained 
standing during the prayer of consecration. It 
was delightful to hear the voices of our guests 
blending with those of the brethren in reciting the 
responses indicated in the printed form, and to 
note their attitude of reverence. At the close of 



196 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the service was manifested universal satisfaction ; 
and in the days following we heard some Eoman- 
ists say: ^^It was beautiful and solemn, very dif- 
ferent from what we had been led to expect. '^ 
There were sent to the church letters of congratu- 
lation, from Dr. Eichard Salter Storrs and from 
the Congregational Association of New Jersey 
through the Eev. Cornelius H. Patton of West- 
field, now one of the secretaries of the American 
Board, whose brother Normand S. Patton de- 
signed the building. 

During the next few years were built a number 
of houses of worship in the state of Chihuahua and 
in the adjoining state of Sonora; and in most 
cases it was my privilege to give the dedicatory 
address. The most commodious edifice of them all 
was that erected in Parral as a memorial of the 
gifted wife of the young missionary who was sta- 
tioned in that important city. Another was built 
by the offerings and the personal labor of the 
** Church of the Pilgrims'' in San Isidro de las 
Cuevas. A single member of the congregation in 
San Buenaventura, who owned considerable prop- 
erty, on a lot adjoining his residence built a chapel 
at his own charges, and arranged to have it dedi- 
cated on the first day of the twentieth century. 
It was his cherished hope that one of his younger 
sons might hear a providential call to educate 
himself to be a preacher, occupy the house next 
to the chapel, and minister to the congregation 
holding its meetings there. Until his death he 



AN ERA OF CHURCH BUILDING 197 

was happy to ring the bell which summoned rela- 
tives and neighbors to the building he had pre- 
pared for song and prayer and meditation. 

In Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, on the 
principal street a church was built by Rev. M. A. 
Crawford with the aid of his father and his 
brothers, he himself doing much of the work with 
his own hands. On the Friday and Saturday eve- 
nings preceding the dedication the place was filled 
with people who had been invited to attend exhi- 
bitions of pictures by means of my stereopticon. 
The governor of the state, upon whom we had 
called to pay our respects, graciously accepted an 
invitation and brought his wife and children to 
the function. It was a great point gained to se- 
cure in this way the presence of influential families 
in a building where later, as all of them knew, 
the Protestants would be meeting for worship. 



CHAPTER XV 

MINISTEBING TO RESIDENT FOKEIGNEBS 

After taking possession of the private house 
on Aldama Street, as described in the ninth chap- 
ter, the first formal religious service for our 
countrymen was held there on Sunday afternoon, 
December 24, 1882, with an attendance of sixty 
persons, many of them Mexicans. An American 
previously had remarked to me: ^^If a man wants 
to succeed in this country, he would better not 
meddle with either politics or religion." While 
the fear of offending Roman Catholics probably 
kept some away, the large sala of our residence 
was filled; and we were gratified by the response 
to the announcement of a service in the English 
language. 

At the close all were invited to remain to hear 
a statement of plans for continuing the meetings ; 
and a committee was named to draw up a con- 
stitution for a religious society. One week later 
an instrument was presented and adopted, under 
the title of ^^The American Evangelical Society 
of Chihuahua." Its object was stated to be '^The 
promotion of acquaintance and good feeling among 
the Americans resident in the city, recognition 

198 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 199 

of the common bonds of Christian fellowship 
uniting those of various religious connections, and 
the maintenance of stated public worship on the 
Lord 's Day. ' ' Officers were elected for six months 
only, on account of the probability of frequent 
changes in the personnel of the membership. Two 
months later was organized a Sunday-school with 
three classes. After some years the word 
*^ Union" was substituted for ^^ American," to em- 
phasize the spirit of unity among the different 
denominations represented, and because some of 
the most faithful members were from Great Britain 
and Canada. During more than twenty years 
these were the only meetings for worship in Eng- 
lish, with the exception of one year when a min- 
ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
was preaching in a chapel of their mission, which 
was begun four years after we entered the city. 
Then the Episcopalians started work for Eng- 
lish-speaking people only ; and about the same time 
came the Baptists to establish services in both lan- 
guages. Also the Methodists made English work 
a part of their regular plan of operation. Conse- 
quently the word ^^ Union" no longer fitted the 
actual situation ; and in the month of April, 1904, 
was organized Trinity Congregational Church. 
The sermon was preached by Eev. Linus 
Blakesley, D.D., who for thirty years had been 
pastor of the First Congregational Church of To- 
peka, Kansas. It was not possible to assemble 
a council of churches to welcome into their fellow- 



200 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ship the new organization ; but we obtained public 
recognition in a novel and scarcely less impressive 
manner. For there were read letters from four 
prominent ministers, as follows: (1) Eev. John 
Howland of Guadalajara, pastor of the English 
Congregation there ; (2) Eev. W. ElsworthLawson 
of Mexico City, pastor of the Union Evangelical 
Church at the capital; (3) Eev. Dr. James L. 
Barton of Boston, Foreign Secretary of the Amer- 
ican Board; (4) Eev. Dr. A. H. Bradford of 
Montclair, N. J., Moderator of the National Coun- 
cil of Congregational Churches in the United 
States, who wrote: 

Dear Brethren and Friends: 

I have heard with much interest of the new Congre- 
gational Church soon to be started in Chihuahua. Such 
an event is of international importance, and one which 
seems to call for a few words of greeting and congratu- 
lation from the Moderator of the National Council of 
Congregational Churches of the United States of 
America. 

We are so near to one another in our continental re- 
lations, that what concerns you also concerns us. And 
I think we are destined to be still nearer in our social 
and spiritual kinship than we are geographically. Our 
peace and welfare are bound up with all that concerns 
the welfare of Mexico. Your peace and prosperity 
means ours also. If a pure and noble type of Christian- 
ity is developed within your territory, it will make all 
Christian work on the American continent easier. A 
great and increasing opportunity is opening before you. 

I am sure that I voice the sentiment of all our churches 
in the United States when I pray that the blessing of 
God may attend the beginning of your church, and fol- 
low it throughout all the coming years. 
Very sincerely yours, 

Amory H. Bradford. 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 201 

The beginning of religious services in English 
immediately upon our arrival in Chihuahua was 
advantageous in several ways. First, to thinking 
people of the Roman Catholic communion even, it 
seemed only fair that to Protestants should be 
afforded opportunity for public worship in their 
mother tongue ; and that they should have a min- 
ister to baptize their children, to visit them in 
times of ajffliction, to counsel them in difficult situa- 
tions, to bury their dead, and when desired, to 
officiate at weddings. In the second place, this 
introductory step opened the way for carrying the 
gospel later to those who were not declared Prot- 
estants. For in the course of time the citizens 
became somewhat accustomed to the idea of recog- 
nizing differences in religious convictions, and of 
tolerating other forms of worship. Whereas, if 
the missionary at the outset had devoted himself 
wholly to studying Spanish and then, when he had 
acquired enough of a vocabulary, to preaching 
the gospel exclusively to Mexicans who would 
listen, it might have been said to him, and with 
pretty good reason, ^^Why do you not care for the 
hundreds of your own countrymen who are living 
here? They, too, need instruction in spiritual 
things ; they require moral restraints and the con- 
solations of religion." In the third place, in this 
way we gained friends for the foreign missionary 
enterprise. Occasionally were donations in aid 
of that work made by American residents. After 
the Mexican Central Railway was opened for 



202 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

through traffic in 1884, many tonrists visited the 
city. For a number of years in succession the 
Raymond and Whitcomb parties always spent 
their first Sunday after crossing the border, in 
Chihuahua; and it was not difficult to persuade 
some of the Christians on the excursion train to 
leave their sightseeing long enough to attend the 
English service for an hour in the afternoon. 
Some of these travelers became so interested in 
the mission work proper that they made offerings 
for it, either to us on the spot or to the American 
Board after they returned home. 

Of the German Colony the larger part had been 
connected in the old country with the Lutheran 
Church; and some of them were glad to avail 
themselves of the services of the only Protestant 
minister for weddings and christenings. When 
some one of the infant sons became old enough 
to be sent to Germany for his education, the bap- 
tismal certificate which had been issued by the 
minister on this side of the Atlantic was for- 
warded with him as one of his credentials. 

Individual Germans were of great help to us. 
One young man who had graduated in theology 
from the university of Leipsic, but was troubled 
with an affection of the throat, came to Mexico to 
find relief in its admirable climate. He had a fine 
tenor voice, and for a year sang in our choir. 
Another, the son of a clergyman in a suburb of 
Hamburg, served for one term as president of our 
society of Christian Endeavor. A third was for 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 203 

a time treasurer of the same society; and he was 
particularly useful whenever there was occasion 
for decorating the interior of the auditorium, he 
being decorator of the show windows in a depart- 
ment store. 

One of our mission force for some years was 
Eev. Theodore F. Hahn, who was born in India, 
the son of a missionary to the lepers. Once when 
he was our guest over a week end, it was arranged 
to have him preach in German. To supply the 
lack of hymnals in that language, the Germans had 
printed an order of service containing the words 
of three hymns; and the singing was led by a 
quartet of their young men. From the rector of 
the Episcopal Church we borrowed a scholar's 
gown for Mr. Hahn, in which he might array him- 
self so as to wear the aspect of a Lutheran clergy- 
man. When he announced the scripture lesson, 
the whole congregation arose and remained stand- 
ing reverently while he read from the Word of 
God. A few German Jews came to the church that 
day in order that they might have the treat of 
hearing in their own language a religious address 
by an educated man. There were in attendance 
about sixty of that nationality. 

The Society of Christian Endeavor raised 
money for remodeling the janitor's residence at 
the rear of the church edifice, so as to make of it 
a small auditorium with a curtained stage at one 
end for musical entertainments and social gather- 
ings; and there was held the English Sunday- 



204 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

schooL Over the street entrance was a sign with 
gilt letters on a black backgronnd — *^C. E. Social 
Hall." The same society purchased of the 
Estey Company their largest reed organ, with 
two manuals, stops and pedal bass, for use in 
the English church services. At this instrument 
presided our son Howard who had had experience 
as organist in the Second Congregational Church 
at Beloit, and at various churches in Chicago while 
he was attending the medical school ; and he found 
that more satisfactory results could be obtained 
with this than with a very small pipe organ. 
Howard and his wife Katherine, formerly leading 
soprano in the choir of the Beloit church, attracted 
other musical people, so that we had for our Eng- 
lish services a quartet that would have been a 
credit to almost any church. 

The Sunday-school was fortunate in having ca- 
pable superintendents, the one who served for the 
longest period being a grandnephew of Eev. Sam- 
uel Worcester, first secretary of the American 
Board. During the period in which the school was 
simply an English department of the general Bible 
school, (as was the case for some fifteen years), 
all the classes met together for the opening devo- 
tions; and there were chosen hymns or gospel 
songs which had been translated from the English 
and were found in the Spanish hymnal. Thus 
were we accustomed to use simultaneously two dif- 
ferent books ; and yet all present were able to sing 
together, everyone in his own tongue. All hearts 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 205 

were united in the spirit of praise while all sang 
the same tune ; and all thoughf ul minds found one 
vehicle of expression for the same religious senti- 
ments. 

In the year 1908, in New York, at a luncheon 
which was attended by ministers of our fellowship, 
the chairman called on me for a word from Mexico. 
In response there was given a brief sketch of the 
English work in Chihuahua ; and the question was 
raised whether we might not find some young man, 
or an older minister possessed of private means, 
who would accept a call to that little flock and 
give it better care than was possible to one who 
had to meet so many other demands upon his 
time and strength. When the assemblage was 
breaking up, a gentleman came to take my hand 
and say that perhaps he himself might be able to 
render the service which had been suggested. It 
was the Rev. A. L. Loder, a graduate of Princeton 
College and Theological Seminary; and soon he 
accepted the offer of the church to pay the small 
salary of an unmarried missionary. All were de- 
lighted with his thoughtful and eloquent preach- 
ing; and after a short time his stipend was in- 
creased. It was with great regret that we ac- 
cepted his resignation, in the spring of 1910, when 
he wished to make a long visit to his children 
in the home land, and felt that the church ought 
not be left without leadership for six months. 

A successor was found in the person of a recent 
graduate of Atlanta Theological Seminary, Rev. 



206 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

L. Frank McGinty, of Scotch-Irish extraction and 
a native of Georgia. So considerable a portion of 
the congregation had come from the Sonth, that 
it was thought one who had been born and 
reared in that section of the country might be 
welcomed as bringing some change from the tradi- 
tions and methods of Northerners. Mr. McGinty 
was well liked; but he felt unwilling to be left 
alone facing an unwonted task, particularly in a 
foreign land, and having to administer the affairs 
of a church that had been formed out of very 
diverse elements. Therefore when, in the autumn 
of the same year, we left for the United States on 
the first formal furlough we had taken since we 
started the Mission to Northern Mexico in 1882, 
he obtained release from his engagement and went 
to Yale Theological Seminary for a year of 
further study. But in the meantime he had made 
an engagement of a different kind — ^having won 
the love of our daughter who was spending 
with us her summer vacation from Teachers Col- 
lege, Columbia University. 

On the Sunday morning before we went away, 
in the name of the congregation he presented me 
with a handsome watch fob which had attached to 
it a facsimile in gold of the artistic bronze medal 
which had been struck that year to commemorate 
the Centenary of Mexican Independence. It was 
the handiwork of a Mexican jeweler of my ac- 
quaintance who had used the precious metal pro- 
duced by one of the mines of his country. 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 207 

Several years earlier there had been given me 
another surprise when the treasurer of the church, 
an English banker, called at my study and 
handed me a generous purse, saying that I was to 
go to Southern California to visit my wife who had 
been absent for six months in search of health, at 
the same time making a home in Claremont for 
the daughter who was studying in the preparatory 
school of Pomona College. We met at '^The 
Breakers'' in Long Beach and had a delightful so- 
journ there, spending hours at a time on the sunny 
strand, storing up strength and courage for years 
to come. 

It gives us great satisfaction to know that al- 
most without exception the young people who were 
in the Bible School and the Christian Endeavor 
Society of that church are living useful lives. 
They are capable, honest and upright men and 
women, engaged in various lines of business — 
commercial, mining and manufacturing — and in 
the professions of medicine and teaching. Some 
achieved distinction on the battle fields of the 
World War. Others are winning victories in the 
great conflict of life, in which there are no exemp- 
tions on account of age or physique or sex. One 
is secretary of a Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation in Egypt. A young woman, now wife 
and mother, is active in social service through a 
Parent-Teacher Association in Los Angeles, Cali- 
fornia, ministering to the needs, both physical and 
mental, of Mexicans in that city. Another has 



208 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

shown special capacity for educating children of 
defective mentality, and holds a responsible posi- 
tion in the same city for which she receives a large 
salary. Still another, who was teacher in the 
Colegio CMhuahuense, served a long time on the 
Immigration Committee of the Young Women's 
Christian Association, and was a recognized 
leader in woman's work in a large Episcopal 
Church of the same metropolis. A fourth may be 
named, now a wife and mother, who finds time 
to help Mexican young women to feel at home in 
a strange land, because they have found here true 
friends who understand them and lovingly show 
them the way to be happy and useful members of 
society. 

For the purpose of considering plans for cele- 
brating the Fourth of July, 1902, a large number 
of Americans assembled at the United States Con- 
sulate. After many of those present had set forth 
their ideas, I ventured to suggest that we should 
not limit ourselves to providing music and fire- 
works on the plaza, as in former years, but utilize 
the occasion for teaching lessons of patriotism to 
the children and youth belonging to our Colony, 
at the same time giving to the Mexicans among 
whom we had established our homes, a more ac- 
curate knowledge of the history and ideals of the 
people of our own land. The thought met with 
general approval; and all felt sure that a large 
sum of money could be raised without difficulty 
to meet the considerable expense involved. A 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 209 

committee of arrangements was appointed with 
myself as chairman ; and we were divided up into 
several subcommittees, which worked together in 
perfect harmony for the preparation of a two-fold 
celebration, to include an elaborate program for 
the morning of Independence Day at ten o'clock, 
and in the evening the presentation to the public 
of the conventional music and fireworks. 

A lady then residing in the city, who was a bril- 
liant impersonator and teacher of elocution, was 
engaged to drill our boys and girls for the pro- 
duction of a sort of pageant which included the 
pinging of patriotic hymns and of airs that are 
popular in both the North and the South. Our 
church edifice was placed at her disposal ; and dur- 
ing several weeks the young folks to the number of 
sixty came regularly in the afternoons after school 
to receive instruction. 

As the time for the celebration approached, we 
were trying to arrange with the manager of the 
Betancourt Theater, where it was expected to pre- 
sent the pageant, to let us have the use of it free 
of charge for final rehearsals in the daytime, when 
a Mexican official, who had shown himself a 
true friend, accosted me on the street to say that 
probably the governor would willingly lend us for 
the occasion the splendid new Teatro de los Heroes 
which had been built at a cost to the State of a 
half million pesos, if we asked for it. At my in- 
stance our Consul went with me to make the re- 
quest, which was granted at once and most gra- 



210 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ciously. The governor further consented to order 
the Boys Band of the School of Arts and Trades 
to play at the function. We sent out invitations 
beautifully printed with the national colors, and 
showing at the top the American flag, to prominent 
families belonging to all the colonies of foreigners, 
as well as to those of the respectable citizens in 
generaL The response was most gratifying; for 
although all kinds of business had to take their 
usual course on that day, which was not in the 
national calendar, hundreds of Mexican gentlemen 
came to the entertainment accompanied by their 
ladies, so that all the seats on the main floor and in 
the first gallery were occupied. Two of the boxes 
were reserved for officials of the government and 
the consuls of other nations. To everybody was 
handed a printed sheet containing the words of all 
the songs that were to be given, while a note in- 
vited all to join in the singing. 

When the curtain rose, there was disclosed to 
view seated at the front of the stage, (which is 
fully as large as that of the Auditorium Theater 
in Chicago), six or eight persons, among whom 
were the Mayor, the American Consul and the 
Chairman of the Committee. A brief and fitting 
discourse was given by the Consul ; and the Chair- 
man read Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg. Then 
were the chairs removed; and for the next hour 
the young people held full sway. There was a 
youth to impersonate Uncle Sam, and a beautiful 
girl to take the part of Columbia. All the parti- 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 211 

cipants were appropriately dressed; and they 
went through a variety of interesting evolutions. 
The closing number presented a scene resembling 
a tableau all kneeling in the form of a great cross, 
with faces turned toward Columbia, while they 
softly sang the hymn beginning with the words 
^'Nearer, my God, to Thee.'' 

The curtain fell ; but before the spectators could 
leave their seats, I ran up the steps leading to the 
footlights and arrested them with a word. A 
graphic account of the episode appeared in the 
local papers the next day in both languages. Fol- 
lowing is the English version of it : 

The chairman then said : **My Countrymen and Coun- 
trywomen, we are assembled here to honor the Republic 
of Washington, by the courtesy of the Mexican people. 
I am sure that you are eager to express your apprecia- 
tion of their kindness to us. Then let us give three 
rousing cheers of the old-fashioned kind. A gentleman 
near me says *I couldn't sing, but I can yell.' Are 
you ready?" (Many voices answer ''Ready"; and all 
Americans rise to their feet.) ''Now, then, three cheers 
for the Republic of Mexico, which has made such gigan- 
tic strides under the enlightened and patriotic admin- 
istration of President Porfirio Diaz. ' ' 

There was a tremendous response under the lead of 
the speaker who from the stage in front of the curtain 
waved his handkerchief as a signal. Then he called for 
three more cheers, "For the City of Chihuahua whose 
generous hospitality we enjoy, and whose citizens have 
honored us by their presence on this occasion." These 
also were given with a right good will. 

But the greatest demonstration occurred when 
another call was made for three cheers, "For the Chief 



212 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Executive of this State, whose untiring devotion to the 
public welfare has enabled us for so long a time to live 
in health, comfort and safety, — for the promoter of 
industry, the patron of education, the friend of peace 
and good government, Colonel Don Miguel Ahumada, 
Governor of the State of Chihuahua." 

It should be explained that the great enthusiasm 
evoked by the third call was due to the popularity 
of the governor with Americans, who liked his 
military promptness and directness of manner. 
When to their pleas he answered Yes, they knew 
that he meant to keep his promise ; and when he 
had to say No, he did not hesitate to speak that 
v^ord. Many of the younger children of the chorus, 
who were behind the curtain and did not under- 
stand what was taking place, were frightened by 
the noise of the cheering, thinking perhaps that 
the building was about to fall. 

Many of the dignitaries, upon leaving the boxes, 
grasped my hand and expressed their feeling of 
complete satisfaction with the pageant they had 
witnessed. On the street in the afternoon a stran- 
ger excused himself for accosting me, explaining 
that he was from Georgia and that he wished 
to say how pleased he had been to take part in 
that cheering. The next day an Englishman, who 
was a friend of long standing, stopped to salute 
me by the way, but with a voice so hoarse, that 
I expressed sympathy with him for having con- 
tracted the severe cold. He laughed at my mis- 
take, saying that the damaged condition of his 



MINISTERING TO RESIDENT FOREIGNERS 213 

vocal cords was the result of his having taken too 
energetic a part in the cheering of the day before ! 
General Hernandez, commanding that military 
zone, willingly lent to us one of the two army 
bands to furnish music on the plaza in the eve- 
ning, in connection with the finest display of fire- 
works which our Colony had ever given. For 
days afterward the pleased expression on the 
faces of individuals, strangers to myself, whom 
I met on the street, some of whom were ladies, 
presumably Eoman Catholic, and the bows that 
were given by several of these last, showed plainly 
how gratifying to them had been the program 
given in the theater ; and how the whole affair had 
increased their respect for their ^^primos'' 
(cousins) of the family of ^^Tio Samuel" (Uncle 
Sam), and at the same time had softened the as- 
perity of the remaining religious prejudice felt 
for an official representative of Protestantism in 
that city. 



CHAPTER XVI 

BATOPILAS AND GOVEBNOR ALEXANDER R. SHEPHERD 

In marked contrast to the trips described in a 
preceding chapter, was the one to Batopilas in 
the spring of the year 1901. Although the work 
in that mining town, both evangelistic and edu- 
cational, was under my care, I had never visited 
it in person, chiefly because of the long, fatiguing 
journey and the expense connected with it. But 
at length a letter was addressed to Governor 
Shepherd, manager and principal owner of the 
famous silver mines there, to inquire what would 
be the cost of transportation by means of the 
monthly conducta which carried in the supplies 
needed by the company and brought out the bars 
of silver bullion. He replied that they would be 
pleased to have me make the round trip as their 

guest. He further stated that his daughter 

was soon to wed Dr. of Washington, D. C, 

who was there; and that they would like to have 
me perform the marriage ceremony. He added 
that it would be more comfortable for me to stay 
with his family at the hacienda ; but that I should 
be at liberty to look after the mission work down 
town as much as might seem advisable; and that 

214 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 215 

if it were too long for me to wait for the next 
conducta^ he would send me out by a special* 
Nothing could have been more generons and satis- 
factory in every way; and the proffered courtesy 
was accepted. 

For this occasion the conducta was put in 
charge of one of the sons of the governor. The 
others of the party were: a niece from Boston, 
who afterward became the wife of a Harvard 
professor, a granddaughter, the secretary of the 
mining company and his wife from New York, 
and several who had been engaged to work for 
the company. 

The first stage of the journey was made by the 
Chihuahua and Pacific Railway to San Antonio, 
seventy-five miles; thence in the company's Con- 
cord coach, drawn by six mules, fifty miles to 
Carichic, which was reached in time for a hearty 
supper and a good rest Monday night. This re- 
freshment was provided in the company's station 
house which was built of stone and contained three 
rooms. Along the road were four more station 
houses, each of which was furnished with a supply 
of kitchen utensils, all that was needed for setting 
the table in the dining-room, and bedding for the 
night. Connected with the stations were corrals 
and stores of grain and fodder, it being necessary 
of course to change daily the * ^mounts'' for pas- 
sengers and the animals that were to carry packs. 

From Carichic to Batopilas it was a journey 
of one hundred and seventy-five miles on ^Hhe 



216 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

hurricane deck of a mule'^ accomplished by means 
of five jornadas of an average length of thirty-five 
miles each. For much of the way the trail led 
us up and down the steep sides of mountain 
ranges, so steep that in places we followed a zig- 
zag path back and forth. Then occasionally there 
would be a level stretch, over which our beasts 
would be urged to a trot. That was the hardest 
part for a tenderfoot. Sometimes our trail fol- 
lowed the windings of a mountain stream. For 
miles upon miles we threaded dense forests of 
pine timber. Here and there were seen numerous 
single trees which had been felled ; a phenomenon 
that was explained by our conductor who said that 
they had been cut down by Tarahumare Indians 
when these were hunting squirrels. We passed 
within sight of several of their small villages ; and 
occasionally we encountered Indians near the 
trail. Sometimes the only living being in sight 
would be a dog ; but a careful scrutiny of the im- 
mediate vicinity, made as we passed along, would 
usually reveal his master lurking within a clump 
of trees or behind a huge rock. 

The number of Tarahumares scattered through 
the mountains of Chihuahua is variously esti- 
mated, from twenty-five thousand to fifty thou- 
sand. They are peaceably inclined, not carrying 
firearms, only bows and arrows. They gain their 
living in part by the chase, in part by raising corn 
and beans and a little fruit. They weave thick 
warm blankets similar to those made by the 




Tarahumare Indians 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 217 

Navajos of Arizona. In summer the men wear 
a loin cloth, although the women are modestly 
dressed in garments of cotton. Their simple 
wants, as for a little sugar, coffee, rice and cloth, 
are met by purchase in the towns. While passing 
along the trail we saw their method of planting 
corn. A solitary Indian, standing in a little patch 
of ground and having scarcely any clothing, would 
bore a hole in the soil with the toes of his right 
foot, drop into it a few grains of the maize, cover 
them with the foot and proceed a little farther 
on to make another hole. 

A few are able to speak a little Spanish, and 
thus serve as interpreters for their fellow Indians 
in dealing with the civil authorities ; and some of 
the Mexicans know a little of the Tarahumare 
tongue. A slight beginning has been made by the 
government in establishing schools for teaching 
their children. Little parties of them are often 
seen on the streets of Chihuahua in the daytime, 
or discovered camping outside on the ground 
under one of the stone arches of the aqueduct. 
They walk in Indian file, the women behind with 
their babies on their backs. They are not loath 
to accept gifts of food and clothing. In one in- 
stance a Mexican gentleman in jest gave to one 
of them an old silk hat. The Indian gravely took 
the present and walked off with it perched on his 
black locks of hair. His summer costume being 
limited to the loin cloth, the combination was 
extremely grotesque. One day I endeavored to 



218 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

persuade a Tarahumare to part with his bow and 
arrows in exchange for a sum of money; but by- 
means of signs he gave me to understand that 
he needed the weapons on the home journey, be- 
cause he must eat by the way. 

Four days in succession we stopped at noon 
for a picnic dinner, the abundant and varied ma- 
terials of which were carried on one of the pack 
mules that was kept with us. In some choice spot, 
preferably near good water and under the shade 
of a tree, was spread a white cloth to receive the 
viands for our refreshment. Other pack mules 
carried our luggage and the supplies for the min- 
ing company, including provision for the wedding 
banquet, the bride's trousseau and even the 
wedding ring. Before starting down any extra 
long and precipitous descent, the Mexican con- 
ductor would call a halt, in order that he might 
pass along the line and make careful examination 
of our saddles and tighten the girths wherever 
needed, as a precaution against accident. Occa- 
sionally when our trail lay along the rocky edge 
of a precipice, where a single misstep of the beast 
might dash its rider to sudden death many hun- 
dreds of feet below, the same official would station 
himself just outside the narrow path and remain 
there until each one of us had passed in safety 
between him and the mountain side towering 
above our heads. The divide was crossed at an 
elevation of about eight thousand feet above sea 
level. 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 219 

On the last night of onr journey we went to 
bed early; for we were to be called at midnight 
to partake of a hot breakfast and be in our sad- 
dles at one o'clock, so as to be able to reach our 
destination at the bottom of the deep harranca 
before the heat should become oppressive. As we 
passed along the darkened trail under the trees 
in single file and in almost complete silence, it 
really seemed as if we might be a party of 
stealthy marauders plotting mischief — robbery or 
violence — against persons whom we desired to 
surprise. Just before sunrise we came out of the 
woods upon an open spot near the head of the 
descent, and halted to eat the sandwiches we car- 
ried in our saddle-bags, while we gazed down the 
tremendous barranca and off to the dim horizon 
beyond the town which for six days had been our 
goal. 

Soon we started down, and continued going 
down with no step up for four hours in succes- 
sion; longer than it takes to descend from the 
rim of the Grand Canyon of Arizona by the Bright 
Angel Trail to the Colorado Eiver five thousand 
feet below. The ascent of that same trail, ten 
days later, required eight hours of toil. The last 
station was reached in time for a late breakfast ; 
and there we were met by two grandsons of Gov- 
ernor Shepherd, who had ridden on their ponies 
a distance of three leagues to bring a small sack 
of oranges for our refreshment. 

Before noon our cavalcade was making a clatter 



220 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

over a pavement of cobblestones, and we rode 
through huge iron gates which gave entrance to 
the hacienda. This had an area of many acres of 
ground surrounded by a high wall, within which 
were the reduction works of the company and 
other buildings, including comfortable residences 
for the family of the manager and for those of 
several of his assistants. It was not difficult to 
imagine ourselves back in the Middle Ages, within 
the walls of a baronial castle. Near the entrance 
we were most graciously received by the ladies 
of the castle, all of them arrayed in spotless white, 
in striking contrast to the travel-stained clothing 
of the weary travelers; and there in the shade 
we were regaled with glasses of lemonade which 
had been cooled by means of lumps of snow 
brought down from the mountains on the backs 
of peons who in the winter time had stored it in 
caves for the convenience of their employers. 

It may be well here to explain, for the sake of 
my children and grandchildren, how Mr. Shepherd 
acquired his title. During the presidency of Gen- 
eral Grant he was made Governor of the District 
of Columbia; and under his administration were 
effected the extensive improvements which lifted 
Washington out of the condition of an over- 
grown village into that of a beautiful metropolis, 
with adequate systems for the supply of water 
and the disposal of sewage, paved streets and 
avenues, and numerous parks. Such a trans- 
formation could be accomplished only at a cost 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 221 

of millions of dollars; and there began to circu- 
late rumors of dishonesty in the handling of 
public funds which had been appropriated to cover 
the expense. About the same time occurred the 
exposure of the Tweed Ring in New York, made 
familiar to all readers of ^^ Harper's Weekly'' 
through the work of the famous cartoonist, 
Thomas Nast. The democratic party had been 
made to suffer for the misdeeds of ^^ Boss Tweed" ; 
and some of the leaders of that political faith were 
active in pushing investigation of the truth of the 
charges of corrupt practices that were brought 
against the administration of the affairs of the 
/Federal District, For if they could saddle the 
republican party with the incubus of a ^^Boss 
Shepherd, ' ' they would have a better prospect of 
being able to weather the storm of righteous indig- 
nation that was beating upon Tammany Hall. 

The democratic senator from Ohio, Allen G. 
Thurman, was chairman of the committee of in- 
vestigation which instituted the most thorough in- 
quiry into all departments of the local administra- 
tion, calling for the production of contracts, ac- 
count books and other documents bearing upon the 
case, and summoning a multitude of witnesses. 
Governor Shepherd himself told me of the severe 
grilling to which he was subjected by the senator. 
But there was no proof of his having: been dis- 
honest, and the investigation came to naught. But 
in order to get rid of ^^Boss Shepherd," the Con- 
gress abolished the office of governor, and pro- 



222 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

vided for the appointment of three commissioners 
to adminster the affairs of the Federal District. 
Of course it was the duty of the President to 
nominate men to fill those offices ; and the first one 
of the three named by General Grant was Alex- 
ander R. Shepherd, and his nomination was con- 
firmed. 

But Governor Shepherd had grown weary and 
sick at heart of the long and bitter conflict ; and he 
sought rest in retirement and in a change of scene 
and work. Therefore he purchased the interest 
of the Wells Fargo Express Company in the mines 
of Batopilas, which were already famous for their 
production of native silver often occurring in 
pockets of great value ; and he made plans for es- 
tablishing his residence in that remote corner of 
the great state of Chihuahua. The General of the 
army, William T. Sherman, urged him to remain 
in Washington ; but when all arguments failed to 
shake his purpose, the former said: ^^Then 111 
give you a letter of introduction to the officers of 
the army posts in Texas stationed along your 
route of travel.'^ The gist of the letter, as the 
recipient of it told me, was ^^You will treat Gov- 
ernor Shepherd as you would treat me. ' ^ 

At that early day it was necessary for the 
family, which included little children, to travel 
by stagecoach for hundreds of miles along our 
southern border, and other hundreds of miles 
across the Mexican desert and over mountain 
trails, in order to reach their destination. For 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 223 

many years after were stories told by the drivers 
of those coaches to their passengers, of the won- 
derful endurance, the patience and unfailing 
cheerfulness of that refined and beautiful mother, 
whose charming personality won the admiration 
of the frontiersmen who were so fortunate as to 
meet her. 

In working the mines Governor Shepherd drove 
a tunnel into the mountain for a distance of more 
than a mile, giving to the bore the name of ^^Por- 
firio Diaz/' There I saw his sons directing the 
work, in rough and soiled mining garb ; but at the 
close of the day they came to the dinner table 
dressed with the same care that would have been 
bestowed upon their toilets, had they been invited 
to dine with friends in Washington. Under the 
wisely inflexible rule of their mother they adhered 
to this custom during the years of their stay under 
the parental roof. Who can rightly estimate the 
refining influence of such a custom followed in 
the remote Mexican town? 

In Mexico the only legal marriage is one per- 
formed by an oflficer of the civil government. Not 
even the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church 
in that country has authority to unite a man and a 
woman in the bonds of holy matrimony, since the 
adoption of the Reform Constitution of 1857. 
Hence the faithful are married twice — once by the 
juez del registro civil and again by the priest ; and 
thus the church enjoys its revenue as of old. In 
1882, and for years thereafter, the judge collected 



224 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

a fee of seven dollars from those who came to his 
office to be wedded, while his charges were multi- 
plied if he had to go to a private house. That 
was a heavy burden for the poor; but it was a 
trifle in comparison with the fees exacted by the 
Church, the minimum in the city of Chihuahua 
being eighteen dollars. No wonder that the peon, 
earning from twenty-five to fifty cents per diem 
and in consequence scantily clothed and meagerly 
fed, could not afford to get married, but came to 
a private understanding with some woman of his 
class who consented to live with him as his wife. 

As is the general custom in Europe, and used 
to be in early times in the eastern states of our 
own country, Mexican law requires that public 
notice of intentions be given eighteen days be- 
fore a couple can wed. This is a very impor- 
tant measure for protecting women against the 
schemes of designing men who may be compara- 
tive strangers. But in cases where the contracting 
parties are well known in the community there 
is no need of this precaution; so the governor is 
authorized to let the judge waive the formality of 
a previous notice, or rather reduce the interval to 
a day or two. Naturally it is only the influential 
families that can obtain such a favor; those of 
humble social condition must wait for the legal 
interval to elapse. 

Since Governor Shepherd was at the head of an 
enterprise which furnished the means of subsis- 
tence to thousands of people, a majority of the in- 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 225 

habitants of the town, he was a most important 
personage there. Arrangements had been made 
with the local magistrate to perform the legal cere- 
mony, near the close of a certain day, after ob- 
taining permission by wire from the city of Chi- 
huahua. But in the middle of the afternoon the 
household was thrown into a state bordering on 
consternation by the tidings that the judge had not 
been able to obtain the necessary permission from 
the capital, because Governor Ahumada had gone 
to El Paso to meet President William McKinley, 
who was to make a stop there on his way to Cali- 
fornia ; and it could not be learned who was acting 
in his stead during the brief absence. 

In the meantime the wires were kept ^^hot" 
with messages to the attorney of the bank in Chi- 
huahua through which the business of the com- 
pany was transacted, and to others who might be 
able to get into communication with the governor. 
After hours of waiting the judge telephoned that 
matters at last had been arranged and he was 
about to start for the hacienda, accompanied by 
his wife and two clerks of the court as witnesses. 
When the glad news was passed from lip to lip, a 
little granddaughter of the governor jumped up 
and down in her chair in an ecstasy of joy ex- 
claiming : ^ ^ Now we can do it ! " 

The olBficial party arrived on horseback (for 
there were no wheeled vehicles in Batopilas) ; and 
no time was lost in beginning the civil ceremony, 
which is quite elaborate and includes much good 



226 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

advice to the persons about to wed. Also the entry 
in the book of record is extensive, giving full 
information concerning the contracting parties, 
and mentioning the names of the parents and 
grandparents on both sides. As the clerk with pen 
in hand was about to complete the record, indica- 
ting the exact hour at which the matrimonial union 
was effected, the judge drew from his pocket a 
heavy gold watch and remarked : ' ' Son las diez y 
quince minutos''; that is to say, ^^It is ten o'clock 
and fifteen minutes.'' 

Then the wedding party rearranged itself facing 
in another direction; and the minister began to 
read the Form for the Solemnization of Matri- 
mony as observed in the Episcopal Church. The 
change to our mother tongue was most grateful 
to all of us ; and the distinctly religious nature of 
the service stirred the most sacred emotions of 
our hearts. At the wedding banquet that followed 
toasts were given, first by the judge, and then by 
the father of the bride, the latter referring with 
evident feeling to his own marriage when the same 
ritual was used. 

After the banquet, there were brought to the 
door saddled mules, each of them adorned with 
huge bows and long streamers of white satin rib- 
bon fastened to bridle and crupper. The bride 
was helped to mount one of them, and the groom 
took possession of the other ; and they were given 
a hearty send off, as they began their brief wed- 
ding journey of a few miles up the mountain side 



BATOPILAS AND GOVERNOR SHEPHERD 227 

to a resort which had been built as a place of re- 
treat for the family from the heat of summer. 
There accompanied them an attendant on foot car- 
rying a torch to light the way. As they trotted 
out through the iron gates a brother of the bride 
fired several shots from his revolver; and almost 
instantly was given a response which we descried 
at a point thousands of feet above where we stood, 
a flame which rapidly grew to a great blaze as a 
beacon to greet and guide them who were begin- 
ning the journey of life together. 

After this family event the Governor took 
occasion to express his appreciation of the kind 
of work being done by our Mexican preacher who 
in a quiet and unpretentious way was presenting 
the truths of the gospel and bringing about re- 
formation of life in the cases of many, with the re- 
sult that members of his congregation were given 
the preference among laborers seeking employ- 
ment by the mining company. When he was told 
that we were about to invite that preacher to be- 
come pastor of the church at the capital, because 
funds were not available to keep him where he 
was, my host made energetic protest against re- 
moving from Batopilas a leader who had ac- 
quired so wide an influence for good, and offered 
to meet the expense of sustaining the work there, 
if we would not withdraw the man. We could 
not decline to accept the generous offer which ac- 
companied the valued testimoy of one so expe- 
rienced in business enterprises. Not long after 



228 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

that lie entered into the other life; but his sons 
continued their father's generous cooperation. 

Fortunately, some years before this, Governor 
Shepherd had the great satisfaction of visiting 
Washington, and having tendered him a reception 
by the Chamber of Commerce, when not less than 
seven thousand persons pressed forward to grasp 
the hand of one who had been so maligned and 
persecuted in the past. In one of the parks has 
been erected a statue of him in enduring bronze 
as an expression by the citizens of their gratitude 
for the great service he had rendered to them and 
to the nation as a whole. 



CHAPTEE XVII 

NOTABLE VISITOBS TO CHIHUAHUA 

Upon the completion of the Mexican Central 
Eailway there set in a strong current of tourist 
travel toward ^' Aztec Land" — a country more 
foreign, even oriental, in its aspect than anything 
to be found short of the Mediterranean shores. 
Instead of taking a voyage across the Atlantic, one 
could board a vestibuled train of Pullman cars and 
in a few days reach the old capital of the Monte- 
zumas ; and there find on every hand, in the homes, 
of the people, in methods of agriculture, in the 
conduct of small businesses, in much of the archi- 
tecture, in many of the social customs, in the very 
features of the open country and in the climate, 
striking reminders of life in Egypt and Palestine. 
Indeed, it was often remarked by those who had 
visited the Holy Land, that they found close re- 
semblances to that in the country where we were 
then living. With the reestablishment in Mexico 
of a stable government, we are on the eve of a re- 
vival of tourist travel, in larger proportions than 
ever before, to that extremely interesting country. 
Such a movement is certain to promote and 
strengthen relations neighborly and friendly be- 

229 



230 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

tween the two republics that ought to be really, 
not merely in name, ^^ sisters,'' with the larger 
responsibility for sympathy, forbearance and true 
helpfulness resting upon the shoulders of the 
older and the stronger of the two. 

First in importance and interest to us of course 
were those who came as representatives of the 
American Board. In the course of the years 
we were privileged to welcome as visitors, and in 
many cases as guests in our home. Secretaries 
Nathanael G. Clark, James L. Barton and Charles 
H. Daniels, of Boston, A. N. Hitchcock, of 
Chicago, and members of the Prudential Com- 
mittee in the persons of Mr. C. C. Burr and Dr. 
E. B. Webb. From the Woman's Board we had 
Mrs. Charles M. Lamson, Mrs. C. H. Daniels of 
Boston, and Miss Susan Daggett of New Haven. 

There were many other Congregational min- 
isters, such as A. E. Winship, Dr. Charles H, 
Eichards, already mentioned. Dr. Frank A. Noble 
of Chicago, Dr. Charles E. Bliss of the same city ; 
Dr. C. H. Everest of New Jersey; Dr. Edward 
Dwight Eaton returning with his wife from depu- 
tation work in China, and Dr. Francis E. Clark, 
the founder of Christian Endeavor. 

There were Bishops of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church: Eliott of Texas, who afterward 
sent to me a copy of an official periodical contain- 
ing a letter of his in which he commended our 
efforts in behalf of our own countrymen, and ad- 
vised against sending a clergyman to care for them j 



NOTABLE VISITORS TO CHIHUAHUA 231 

J. Mills Kendrick of Arizona, who accepted my in- 
vitation to conduct in our house of worship a 
service in English, in order to gratify the prefer- 
ences of some who had been brought up in the com- 
munion of his church; and Joseph H. Johnson 
of California. 

There were Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South: Joseph S. Key, Walter E. Lam- 
buth and W. A. Candler ; and Secretaries of their 
foreign mission work, both men and women. 

At an early day, while meetings were still being 
held in the school room, we had as our guest the 
well known administrator of foreign missions, Dr. 
H. Grattan G-uinness of London, who preached by 
means of my interpreting, and at the close grasped 
the hands of the humblest members of the congre- 
gation with the warmth of a loving brother in 
Christ. In the year 1890 came my parents for a 
stay of two months, in the course of which they 
accompanied me on a missionary journey by rail- 
way train and coach into the southern part of the 
state, eating and sleeping in the homes of the 
people. On another trip of ten days, covering two 
hundred and fifty miles with horse and buggy over 
plains and through mountains, my father went 
with me, and availed himself of the opportunity 
to speak to several scattered groups of believers. 

There were S. Guy Inman, now active in efforts 
for the religious welfare of Latin American 
countries, Samuel P. Craver, who was transferred 
from Mexico to Paraguay, Eucario M. Sein, who 



232 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

was in turn preacher, editor and national secre- 
tary of Sunday-school work in his native country 
for many years, Thomas F. Wallace, who began 
laboring in the United States of Colombia and 
continued fruitful efforts in Northern Mexico, 
Arcadio Morales, who has been a Presbyterian 
pastor in Mexico City for more than forty years 
and has rendered important service as evangelist 
in many other places, W. Elsworth Lawson, who 
came from England to his long pastorate of the 
Union Evangelical Church of Mexico City, and 
many others. There were laymen like Wm. Henry 
Grant of New York, Bernard C. Steiner of Balti- 
more, and Young Men's Christian Association 
Secretaries — Clarence J. Hicks, Fred B. Shipp, 
George L Babcock and William G. Coxhead. 

Nearly all of those whose names have been given 
in this chapter spoke from our pulpit. Also, of 
visiting women, besides those who have been men- 
tioned, were Mrs. Mary Foster Bryner whose fame 
drew a large assemblage to hear her. Miss Lucy 
Tappan of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who is now 
Mrs. D. B. Scott, and Mrs. J. M. L. Woodruff of 
New York. The last named, having read the 
monthly items of news from my pen in the depart- 
ment of missions in the ^^Independent,'' wrote to 
inquire whether it would be safe for a lady without 
escort to travel in Mexico. The tone of her letter 
made me think that it would be advisable to en- 
courage such a woman to undertake the trip. My 
reply led her to start at once; and soon she re- 



NOTABLE VISITORS TO CHIHUAHUA 233 

ported herself at our house, then continued her 
journey southward. Weeks passed without bring- 
ing any tidings from her; and we had begun to 
feel rather solicitous for her welfare, when she ap- 
peared again, full of enthusiasm over the delights 
of her long tour which had been extended to re- 
gions beyond Mexico City, seldom visited by or- 
dinary travelers. She expressed gratitude for my 
confidence in her ability to care for herself; and 
thus was begun an acquaintance which ripened 
into friendship for us that lasted to the end of 
her life. She was the widow of an Episcopal 
clergyman ; and after being left alone she devoted 
herself to the writing of books under the nom de 
plume of W. L. M. Jay, which were published by 
E. P. Dutton and Company. One of the volumes 
she sent to Mrs. Eaton was named ^^In Green Pas- 
tures,'' with the subtitle, ^^ Poems of Cheer, Faith, 
Hope and Comfort," selected from a wide range 
of authorship on both sides of the Atlantic, and 
including fifteen to twenty of her own. This vol- 
ume bore on its cover thickly clustering Easter 
lilies, while above them was a soaring butterfly. 
On the fly leaf the author had written : 

*^ Green be the pastures where you go, 
And stillest waters shining flow ! 
Easter, 1899.'' 

There were a few others whose visits seem to 
require special mention. One was that of John 



234 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Wanamaker who was accompanied by a party of 
relatives and friends. In the spring of 1893, at the 
close of his term of service as Postmaster General, 
he made an extended tonr in a private car through 
Mexico, in the course of which he was presented 
to President Diaz and to the governors of several 
states. Friends of his in El Paso were hoping 
that he would spend Easter Sunday with them; 
but he decided to stop over in Chihuahua for that 
day; and the result was a most delightful surprise 
for our Mexican congregation. 

Soon after our Bible service had begun at the 
usual hour, there were ushered into the rear seats 
a dozen or more American ladies and gentlemen. 
At the close of the devotional exercises I remarked 
that I thought one of the visitors was a prominent 
Christian layman, and that he would probably 
consent to speak to us after the study of the 
lesson; then was given the signal to such of the 
classes as had to retire to other departments for 
a half hour. Walking down the aisle I extended 
my hand in hearty welcome to Mr. Wanamaker, 
who said that he had expected to find a service 
in English held at this hour, but added : ^ ^ This is 
all right; I am enjoying it." He readily agreed 
to address the assemblage; and the interval was 
occupied in telling him about our work, and in 
pointing out to him certain persons whose life 
stories were of special interest to a stranger. 

When all had come together again, I referred 
to the fact that they had beeii told; months bef ore^ 



NOTABLE VISITORS TO CHIHUAHUA 235 

of the Postmaster General who at the end of every 
week went from Washington to Philadelphia to 
superintend his Sunday-school which enrolled 
more than three thousand members. At that time 
my story must have seemed to them almost beyond 
belief, because it was an unheard of thing in their 
country for an ofl&cial of the government to super- 
intend a Bible school. The visitor was invited to 
come forward, and I introduced him as that same 
Postmaster General. He was well prepared by 
his tour through their country to express himself 
in courteous phrase to a courteous people. Group- 
ing his thoughts under four heads, the Sabbath, 
the Sanctuary, the Scriptures and the Savior, each 
one of which in itself made a special appeal to that 
assembly, he dwelt particularly upon the last. In 
a fascinating way was held up to view the One 
^^ altogether lovely''; and he made a profound im- 
pression by the address which continued for three- 
quarters of an hour. 

All this time the carriages which had brought 
the party from the railroad station were standing 
at the door, a most unusual sight for those passing 
by. Some of them came in to discover the cause, 
including the editor and proprietor of a liberal 
newspaper. There entered also the state treas- 
urer, an official who spoke English perfectly and 
had been designated to serve as interpreter for the 
distinguished visitor when he should be presented 
to the governor. Some of these visitors heard 
the larger part of the address, and all were 



236 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

listeners to the closing words, most sympathetic 
and fraternal, recognizing the common bonds 
which nnite ns in one family with God as our 
Father and Jesus Christ as our Elder Brother. 
It was a wonderful reinforcement for our work, 
to have it known throughout the city that a cabinet 
officer from Washington and his entire party had 
attended our service and taken a leading part 
in it. 

Two years later the evangelists Dwight L. 
Moody and Ira D. Sankey were holding meetings 
in the Southland, and had engaged to hold a con- 
ference with Christian workers of Mexico in 
Toluca, beginning on a certain day in April. We 
knew they would not travel on the Lord's Day, and 
therefore would have to stop over at some point 
on the way. It occurred to me that they might be 
persuaded to choose our city as the place. I wrote 
to Mr. Moody urging him to spend the Sunday 
with us, and requested him, if he agreed to the 
plan, to furnish me with a list of ten or a dozen 
hymns from which he would be likely to make 
selections for use in the services, in order that a 
small choir might be formed to practice them in 
advance of his coming, and so be able to lead 
strongly in the singing by the congregation. 

Mr. Moody promised to come, but added: ^^Do 
not ask me to speak through an interpreter.^' 
Copies of ^^ Gospel Hymns'' were purchased for 
the use of the choir, and we printed hundreds of 
sheets containing the words of the hymns for the 



NOTABLE VISITORS TO CHIHUAHUA 237 

convenience of all others who might attend. There 
was a great deal of advertising done in the local 
English newspaper, and by means of handbills 
posted up in the city and distributed through the 
near mining camps. Some persons who saw the 
announcements would not believe that the famous 
evangelists were really to visit us. One American, 
who evidently was not getting reliable news from 
his own country, declared positively that Mr. 
Sankey recently had died, and that the whole thing 
was a mistake or a hoax. 

The two men addressed a few meetings in El 
Paso, but cut off one day from their scheduled 
sojourn in the border city when they learned that 
the one daily train, leaving at five o'clock in the 
afternoon, would not arrive at Chihuahua until 
an hour after midnight. Early on Saturday morn- 
ing we heard that they were lodged in one of our 
hotels; and all three, (for Mrs. Moody accom- 
panied her husband) were taken to our home. 

On Sunday after breakfast we gathered in the 
parlor, and Mr. Moody was invited to conduct the 
family worship. His reading of Scripture was 
followed by Mr. Sankey 's singing to his own ac- 
companiment on the piano. Then Mr. Moody led 
in prayer, remembering the work so near to our 
hearts; and when he sought divine guidance and 
blessing for our son who was away from home at 
school, we seemed to hear him talking face to face 
with the Heavenly Father, and we felt not the 
limitations of distance and time between ourselves 



238 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

and our boy. The gentlemen were invited to look 
in npon the morning Bible service for Mexicans ; 
and Mr. Sankey said that he wonld be snre to go. 
The latter was there at the beginning and readily 
consented to sing for us. He gave a solo ; and then 
proposed that all sing from the Spanish hymnal 
the chorus of a composition of his own, ^^When 
the mists have rolled away/' after each of the 
stanzas, which he would sing in English. 

During the study of the lesson Mr. Moody saun- 
tered in and was conducted to the pulpit platform, 
whence he had a good view of what was going on. 
When all had come together again for the closing 
exercises, he was assured we had not forgotten his 
stipulation that he should not be asked to speak 
through an interpreter; but he was told that the 
Mexican brethren were much pleased when visi- 
tors from abroad showed a spirit of friendliness, 
and that he would be given opportunity, if desired, 
to say just a word of greeting. He was so de- 
lighted with their singing of one of the hymns, 
which was not a translation from the English, that 
he said he wished to have them render the same 
at the meeting in the afternoon. Then he started 
to say a few words to them ; but he could not stop, 
their sympathetic response was so immediate, and 
so evident in the close attention they gave, and he 
continued for about a half hour. 

Both afternoon and evening our auditorium was 
packed with men and women, some of whom had 
not entered a church edifice for years, eager to 



NOTABLE VISITORS TO CHIHUAHUA 239 

hear Moody and Sankey. Before the evening ser- 
vice an anxious mother sent by me a request for 
Mr. Sankey to sing ^^ Where is my wandering boy 
to-night T' He replied: ''That will be as Mr. 
Moody says.'' The song was snng; and not many 
days after, the mother learned that her son, who 
was a locomotive engineer, had been killed in an 
accident somewhere in Arizona. In the emergency 
was his spirit able to touch the mother's soul and 
obtain an answer of love and longing from her who 
gave him birth? In giving his final message to 
the Americans, the evangelist tried to make them 
realize the importance of taking time to cultivate 
the highest part of their nature; and he urged 
them to attend the services in English that were 
regularly held in the place where they were as- 
sembled, many of them for the first time. ' ' Why, ' ^ 
said he, ''not half the churches in the United 
States have so beautiful a house of worship as is 
open to you here. ' ' 

As Mr. Moody journeyed southward, becoming 
more fully acquainted with the conditions in that 
country, he was profoundly impressed with the 
people's need of the gospel and of all which that 
word implies, and with the openings for carrying 
to them those blessings; and he exclaimed: "If 
I could speak Spanish, I would cancel all my en- 
gagements and give myself exclusively to Mexico 
for the next five years." 



CHAPTER XVIII 

INTERDENOMIN-ATIOKAL. ASSEMBLIES 

The first one of national scope was held in 
Mexico City in the year 1888, and was composed 
not only of American missionaries and Mexican 
preachers and teachers of all the eleven denomina- 
tions laboring in the country, Episcopalians and 
Friends joining with the others, bnt also included 
a few representatives of mission boards in the 
United States. Foreigners and nationals were 
mingled in delightful confusion, and all enjoyed 
equal privileges on platform and floor. Mention 
may be made here of two matters which aroused 
the greatest interest and resulted in definite action 
by the assemblage. The first was a plea made by a 
Mexican for the founding of a college or university 
of high grade to do for Mexico what Eobert 
College at Constantinople, the Syrian Protestant 
College at Beirut and the Anglo-Chinese College 
are doing for the lands in which they are located, 
through the education of selected young men who 
should exert a powerful influence in behalf of a 
more enlightened religious faith and a better so- 
cial order. A committee was appointed, consisting 
of one missionary and one Mexican from each de- 

240 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 241 

nomination, to inform the wealthy friends of edu- 
cation in the United States of the pressing need of 
generous gifts to this end. 

The second was the directing of attention to the 
evils of denominational rivalry, and the adoption 
of an agreement tending to diminish the unfortu- 
nate effects of misguided zeal. By unanimous vote 
it was recommended that in the case of cities hav- 
ing less than fifteen thousand population only one 
missionary society be allowed to occupy the 
ground; and that where two or more may have 
been established already, the field should be yielded 
to one of them, due account being taken of the time 
and money expended by each ; in cases of difficulty 
the matter to be referred to a committee of arbi- 
tration whose decisions by a two-thirds vote 
should be final. ^^ Occupation'^ was defined to 
mean the organization of a congregation and ar- 
rangements for holding religious services periodi- 
cally ; the suspension of such services for one year 
to be regarded as abandonment of the field. 

That was good for a beginning; and it served 
to prepare the way for the great advance regis- 
tered at the memorable Conference of earnest men 
and women which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 
the year 1914, when it was determined to effect 
^uch a readjustment in the relations existing 
among the several Christian bodies laboring in 
Mexico, as should assign extensive areas — some of 
these embracing several states — for exclusive oc- 
cupation by the respective denominations ; and at 



242 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the same time should provide for close cooperation 
by them in educational lines (particularly in the 
training of men and women for distinctively evan- 
gelistic service), and in the publication of religious 
literature. 

In the summer of 1895 was held in the city of 
San Luis Potosi, a convention of Sunday-school 
workers. Among the delegates present were 
found representatives of seventeen societies of 
Christian Endeavor; and there was effected the 
organization of a National Union, with Mrs. Eaton 
as General Secretary. This was a fitting selection 
because she had been so enterprising as to or- 
ganize in 1890 the first society of young people 
in the country to bear that name and to function 
under a constitution which had been translated 
for the purpose from that of the parent society. 
To preserve in Spanish the English order of the 
letters ^^C. E./' she made the name to be ^^Cris- 
tianos Energicos/' (Energetic Christians) rather 
than ^^Esfuerzo Cristiano'' which is a literal 
translation of Christian Endeavor; particularly 
because some Mexicans who were consulted 
thought it more in harmony with the spirit of their 
language to translate the title in that way, than 
to qualify an impersonal noun by the adjective 
^ ^ Christian. " However, the latter won general 
adoption. Naturally the first general secretary 
was obliged to conduct an extensive correspon- 
dence with the societies scattered throughout the 
country, in order to bind them together in closer 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 243 

fellowship and unify their undertakings. Al- 
though all this added greatly to the weight of re- 
sponsibilities she was already carrying in our own 
mission, she accepted election for a second term. 

The first convention was held in 1896 in the city 
of Zacatecas, some of the delegates having trav- 
eled afoot or on horseback for hundreds of miles 
to reach the place of meeting. Numerous banners 
were carried there, and many of the assembly 
wore the society's emblem. The addresses and the 
topics for discussion were all appropriate to the 
occasion; and Dr. Francis E. Clark pronounced it 
to be a genuine Christian Endeavor Convention. 
In a large photograph of the assembled delegates, 
with their banners furnishing a background, the 
beloved Founder is seen in the center of the fore- 
ground, having Mrs. Clark at his left and Mrs. 
Eaton next. 

In 1899 I was elected president of the Union, 
and the following year was privileged to represent 
Mexico at the World Convention in London. The 
North German Lloyd steamship Saale, which had 
been chartered to transport hundreds of delegates, 
was to sail on a Monday from Boston for South- 
ampton. But on Saturday night before she left 
her berth at Hoboken, she was destroyed by a fire 
which burned to death a number of her crew; so 
that the farewell rally held on Sunday night in 
Tremont Temple, which was to have been an occa- 
sion of good cheer and happy anticipation, was 
made somber by reason of the tragedy and the re- 



244 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

suiting uncertainty as to means of transportation 
for those who had been booked to sail on the ill- 
fated vessel. The offer was made to refund the 
passage money of all who had paid their fare to 
London and return, and to all who had arranged 
to make tours on the continent of Europe; with 
the alternative of sailing on a slower cattle ship 
bound for Liverpool. This might not get them to 
London in time for the convention; but it would 
enable them to carry out plans for the respective 
tours, and they were promised the companionship 
of Treasurer William Shaw. 

When different persons were called upon to give 
their names and places of residence, I introduced 
myself as ^^the husband of the first general sec- 
retary of the Mexican Union/' Mr. Shaw was 
in the chair, and he instantly responded: ^^ Eaton 
will go to London, if we have to send him on top of 
the mast ! ' ' At the close of the meeting he invited 
me to call at his oJB&ce in the morning. There I 
expressed willingness to sleep on the floor of the 
saloon or anywhere else on board of the steamship 
Trave which was to sail a few days later from New 
York under charter by the Pennsylvania Endeav- 
orers, explaining that such meager accommoda- 
tions would not involve great hardship for one 
who had wrapped himself in blankets to sleep on 
a cowhide or a thin mattress laid upon boards. 
But Mr. Shaw replied: ^^I think we can do better 
than that for you. Have you any color preju- 
dice ? " '' None in particular, after living for many 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 245 

years among folks of aU shades of color/' ^^Well, 
I am going to take over in my stateroom Bishop 
(naming a colored clergyman of promi- 
nence) ; and you may take, if you will, Professor 
of Livingstone University in North Caro- 
lina/' 

A few hours later, some fifty of us, including a 
number who were scheduled to speak at the con- 
vention in London, in a special coach left the sta- 
tion for New York. On the train was passed 
around a paper which indicated our reservations 
aboard the Trave; and then was it learned that 
two others were to be my companions in a double 
stateroom, viz.. Rev. Tasuku Harada of Kobe rep- 
resenting the Endeavorers of Japan and later to 
become president of the Doshisha, and William 
Patterson, D.D., who had lately come from Toronto 
to be the pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church, 
Philadelphia. The two lower berths were assigned 
to the Japanese and the Afro-American. The 
first night out at sea Dr. ^^ Billy" Patterson, of 
the warm Irish heart, was the last to come down 
from the deck. As he seated himself on a stool 
to remove his shoes, he remarked : ' ' This is inter- 
esting, to find one's self between Africa on the one 
hand and Japan on the other, and Mexico not far 
off!'' 

Every morning during the voyage, except on 
Sunday, there was given in the main saloon an 
address by some one of the passengers ; and three 
of the six were furnished by our quartet, the 



246 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

subjects being Ireland, Japan and Mexico. Our 
quarters came to be spoken of familiarly as ^^tbe 
stateroom of the four nationalities/' One day 
on deck a lady accosted me with the words, ^^ Ex- 
cuse me, Sir, are you a Mexican?" My reply 
was: ^^No, Madam, but my daughter is.'' Then 
I explained that she was born under the flag of 
that country and always counted herself a Mexi- 
can. 

A prime favorite with all was the Eev. Maltbie 
D. Babcock, D. D. of the Brick Presbyterian 
Church of New York, who preached on Sun- 
day, lectured one day on ^^What is Best Worth 
Seeing in Paris," sang at the concert which was 
given one evening for the benefit of the families 
of the men who perished when the Saale was 
burned, played the piano to accompany our singing 
in the prayer meetings, and was always ready to 
show kindness to any whom he might help. Highly 
prized is a letter which he wrote me some months 
later; and when, in the following year upon his 
return from the Holy Land, he was stricken down 
with the Mediterranean fever and died in a hospi- 
tal in Naples, I felt personally bereaved in the loss 
of a dear friend. 

The hall of Alexandra Palace in London had 
sittings for fifteen thousand persons, including the 
chorus of two thousand. In order that as many 
as possible might hear what was said, the 
speakers' stand was carried far out toward the 
center of the vast auditorium, and was reached by 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 247 

a narrow bridge railed in on both sides. Among the 
elaborate decorations were seen the flags of almost 
all nations; bnt that of Mexico did not appear. 
However, to provide for such a contingency, I had 
carried one with me from Chihuahua, and then held 
it in a roll under my arm. At the close of the first 
morning session the attention of the head steward 
was called to the lack, and to the means at hand for 
supplying it. He was grateful for this, and looked 
about for a suitable place in which to hold it up to 
view. Finally he suggested the front of the 
speakers' stand. Nothing could have pleased me 
more ; but how to fasten the flag to the single iron 
pipe which served for a railing was the problem. 
Neither of us possessed a bit of twine ; but I made 
bold to accost a lady, explain our predicament 
and beg the favor of one or two pins. Most gra- 
ciously were they produced. Two or three others 
of the fair sex were waylaid with a similar plea, 
until we had a sufficient supply of the indispen- 
sable pins; and Mexico's eagle, which had been 
painted by hand on a background of white flanked 
by the green and the red, faced the vast assembly 
at the afternoon session. Thus did the last be- 
come first. 

At that time the whole civilized world, outside 
of China, was waiting in suspense for news of the 
fate which might have befallen the foreigners who 
were besieged by the Boxers on the grounds of the 
American Legation in Peking. Therefore, when 
President Clark called upon a veteran mission- 



248 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ary from China to lead us in a prayer of inter- 
cession for the beleaguered company on the other 
side of the globe, there fell a deep hush upon all 
present, who seemed scarcely to breathe as they 
listened to the fervent petitions of the white- 
haired man whose heart was so profoundly moved. 

Also was the Boer War then in progress; and 
the division of sentiment in England itself over 
that deplorable conflict (which did not end until 
there had been dispatched to Cape Colony a total 
of two hundred and fifty thousand men, or ten for 
every one of the Boers bearing arms), was plainly 
shown on the evening of the roll call. For when 
Dr. Clark mentioned ^^ South Africa'' and a score 
or two of delegates rose to their feet, they were 
greeted with a storm of applause. 

There had been assigned to me as correspondent 
for our mission paper, ^^El Testigo," a seat at the 
reporters' table immediately in front of the 
speakers. My nearest neighbor was a French pas- 
tor, son of Merle d'Aubigne who wrote the ^^ His- 
tory of the Reformation." When Mexico was 
called, he courteously assisted me to climb from 
my chair to the table, from which vantage ground 
I gave an English translation of the cablegram 
which had been sent on my arrival in London to 
the National Christian Endeavor Convention then 
in session in Mexico City, as follows: ^^ Proverbs 
XXV, 25, (As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is 
good news from a far country). Fifteen thousand 
Endeavorers salute you. I Corinthians XV, 57 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 249 

and 58." After a brief mention of two or three 
characteristics of such gatherings in Mexico, I 
read the cabled response to my message which had 
been sent by a Mexican pastor who was elected my 
successor in the presidency. 

Eetnrning to my hotel that evening, there was 
f onnd a note from William T. Stead, editor of the 
British ^^Eeview of Reviews," who had called in 
person to invite me to be one of a number of 
guests from abroad who the next day were to go 
on a steamboat excursion up the Thames and visit 
Windsor Castle where Queen Victoria would allow 
herself to be seen. At almost the same time was 
received notice of the expected arrival from Liver- 
pool on that very day of the Endeavorers who had 
sailed from Boston on the cattle ship, and of their 
immediate departure for the continent of Europe, 
on the several tours for which delegates had been 
booked; consequently it was impossible for me to 
accept Mr. Stead's alluring invitation. The fol- 
lowing summer, when Mexico's Endeavorers as- 
sembled in the city of Puebla, there was given me 
a chance to tell the story of the World Convention. 
The episode of the flag displayed in Alexandra 
Palace aroused great enthusiasm ; and many of the 
proud and happy Mexicans pressed forward to 
give me a close embrace. 

By this time the scope of the national gatherings 
had greatly broadened. For the Methodists and 
the Baptists had followed the example of the En- 
deavorers in holding yearly meetings respectively 



250 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

of the Epworth Leagues and the Young Peoples' 
Associations ; and soon there was formed a Fed- 
eration of all these, together with the Snnday- 
school Association. The federated bodies were ac- 
customed to hold a National Convention every 
summer, up to the time of the overthrow of the 
Diaz regime. On one day, as provided for in the 
general program, simultaneous meetings were 
held by the respective organizations for the trans- 
action of necessary business and the discussion of 
subjects closely related to the objects for which 
they had been formed. For all the rest of the 
time the hundreds of delegates, representing the 
special interests, sang and prayed and discussed 
problems together, sent a respectful salutation to 
the chief magistrate of the city where they were 
assembled, whether that official happened to be 
mayor or governor, and received from him in- 
variably a prompt and courteous reply in writing, 
often accompanied by good wishes for success in 
the attainment of our worthy objects as they had 
been briefly explained by the men who were se- 
lected to serve as messengers to that official. 

There is good ground for believing that those 
conventions, which were attended during a series 
of years by delegates from nearly all the states 
of the Eepublic, prepared the way for holding 
general gatherings of men who wished to discuss 
subjects of a different character, especially such 
as concerned the social and political welfare of the 
nation. Certain repressive measures which had 



INTERDENOMINATIONAL ASSEMBLIES 251 

been adopted by the Federal Government, at first 
for establishing and preserving public order and 
tranquillity, tended to make men of vision and of 
patriotic impulses rather timid about getting to- 
gether in public fashion, lest they might be em- 
barrassed by the attitude of officials who did not 
understand their aims, or, if they did, were not in 
sympathy with them. But the periodical assem- 
bling of representatives of the small Protestant 
minority — ^who were regarded by a large part of 
the citizens with feelings of aversion, if not of 
positive hostility — without suffering any physical 
inconvenience, gradually accustomed the public to 
the sight of such gatherings ; and there was awak- 
ened a greater feeling of confidence in the minds 
of those who sought opportunity to confer in na- 
tional assembly with others possessing similar 
ideals, but whose homes in many instances were 
far removed from the capital. 



CHAPTER XIX 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 



It is pleasant to recall our first sight of the man 
who afterward became so famous as the ruler of 
Mexico for almost a generation, and who in the 
course of the years received medals and decora- 
tions from most of the governments of Europe. 
It was in the spring of 1885 that our little family, 
through the kindness of a friend in Chicago, was 
able to make a prolonged visit to Mexico City. On 
the way there, which is a journey of one thousand 
miles, we stopped over in several cities, thus be- 
coming acquainted with various branches of in- 
dustry in the country, particularly mining. But 
we were especially interested in two memorials 
of its past history. 

In Guanajuato we visited the old Spanish fort- 
ress, now a penitentiary, upon whose outer wall 
was hung an iron cage containing the head of the 
venerable leader in the War for Independence, 
Don Miguel Hidalgo, after he had been executed at 
Chihuahua in July, 1811. In Queretaro we studied 
the museum which preserves significant souvenirs 
of the beginning of that revolution ; and visited the 
^'Hill of the Bells ^^ where were executed the Em- 

252 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 253 

peror Maximilian and his Generals, Miramon and 
Mejia. Upon the elevation stands a memorial 
chapel which was erected by the Austrian govern- 
ment over the graves of the three ill-fated leaders, 
upon a plot of ground which was ceded for the 
purpose, at the request of General Diaz, by a 
wealthy hacendado who himself opened the build- 
ing for us and showed the objects which it con- 
tains. 

To describe the attractions of Mexico City and 
its fascinating suburbs — the palaces, the cathe- 
dral and other ancient church edifices, the museum 
of antiquities, the campo santo of San Fernando 
where repose the ashes of some of the nation's 
greatest leaders in the past, the sacred hill and 
shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Chapultepec, 
the floating gardens, and scores of other objects 
of interest in the marvelous Valley of Mexico 
which is everywhere dominated by the famous vol- 
canoes — ^would be to repeat what may be found 
in any good guidebook. 

But there was one experience which deserves 
mention here. It was my good fortune to be pres- 
ent at the opening of the Federal Congress, April 
1, when both houses met together in an old theater 
on Cinco de Mayo street to receive the message of 
President Diaz. He made an imposing figure, 
seated in a stately chair and wearing across his 
breast a broad band of the national tricolor, green, 
white and red. He read his message from manu- 
script, then rose from his seat and left the stage, 



254 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

accompanied by high dignitaries of state. Imme- 
diately I left my own seat, which was in the front 
row of the gallery (there being no other American 
present, so far as appeared), and hastened down- 
stairs to the hallway along which he would have 
to pass in order to reach the lobby. No one for- 
bidding, there I stationed myself ; and in a moment 
more the President and his party passed within 
a few feet of me, affording a fine opportunity for 
making a rapid survey of the man who was evi- 
dently a soldier and a leader. 

But for the young missionaries the most inter- 
esting experience was that of making the acquain- 
tance of some of the leaders in the evangelistic 
and educational work for the Mexican people. 
In Gante Street we inspected the splendid property 
of the Methodists, which once formed part of the 
monastery of the Dominican friars but, after it 
had been confiscated by the liberal government, 
was acquired through the efforts of Dr. William 
Butler. In their spacious auditorium we heard 
a sermon by an eloquent Mexican minister ; and in 
a smaller hall of the same building I preached 
for the Eeverend John W. Butler to his English- 
speaking congregation. We dined with Dr. J. 
Milton Greene, founder of the Presbyterian peri- 
odical ^^El Faro,'' who afterward labored for 
many years in San Juan, Porto Eico. At his table 
we met the Eeverend Hubert W. Brown who had 
recently finished his studies at Princeton and had 
come to assist Dr. Greene in preparing young men 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 255 

for the gospel ministry. At another time we were 
introduced to a Mexican elder of the Presbyterian 
Church, who was caught in a massacre of Protes- 
tants some years before, when Roman Catholic 
fanatics stormed the chapel where they were as- 
sembled for worship. He was so fortunate as to 
escape with his life, although seriously wounded; 
and it was a thrilling moment for me when he ex- 
tended what was left of his right hand, and let 
me hold in mine the maimed member which spoke 
so eloquently of what he had suffered for the sake 
of the gospel. 

In the year 1909, when it was arranged for the 
presidents of the sister republics to meet on the 
border between the two countries, elaborate prep- 
arations were made to do honor to General Diaz 
in the city of Chihuahua which he was to visit for 
the first time since he became president in the 
spring of 1877. Triumphal arches were erected at 
intervals along Juarez Avenue from the railway 
station to the central plaza, and through and be- 
yond the city almost to the head of the aqueduct, 
a distance of perhaps two miles. For two days he 
was the guest of our governor, and the recipient 
of many attentions in public. The most notable of 
these was a fete given in the theater, to which we 
had tickets of admission through the courtesy of 
the American Consul. As one of the numbers on the 
program, a child recited very prettily an address 
of welcome to the distinguished visitor, who then 
called the boy to his private box and greeted him 



256 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

in an affectionate manner to show appreciation 
of the little speech to which all of us had listened 
with delight. 

The Yale men of El Paso and vicinity took ad- 
vantage of the coming of President Taft to do 
honor to their fellow alnmrins, and in that connec- 
tion to organize the Yale Alumni Association of 
the Southwest. The young man who was most 
active in the movement invited me to meet with 
them, not so much on account of my having pur- 
sued a brief course of postgraduate study in New 
Haven, as because of our family connection with 
the university, the father and two brothers on 
each side of the house having been identified with 
the same institution. 

Five thousand men of the regular army, rep- 
resenting all branches of the service, marched 
through the streets of the city; and in the civic 
procession the Yale men were transported in sev- 
eral automobiles, at frequent intervals singing 
songs or startling the throngs along the way by 
their yells. Through Captain Archie Butts, who 
afterward perished on the Titanic , it was arranged 
for us to be received by the President in his suite 
of rooms at the hotel in the late afternoon, just 
before he was to be driven across the river to 
Juarez where a banquet was to be given him by 
General Diaz. As we were introduced one by one 
to the President, he received us with the utmost 
cordiality and had pleasant words for all. When 
he was informed that he had been elected that very 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 257 

afternoon ^^an honorary charter member of the 
Yale Alumni Association of the Southwest,'^ he 
threw up his hands with the exclamation, ^^I ac- 
cept^'; which was referred to afterward by one of 
the men as ^^ probably the shortest speech of ac- 
ceptance on record.'' 

In September, 1910, was celebrated with elab- 
orate ceremonial and lavish display and expendi- 
ture, the one-hundredth anniversary of the begin- 
ning of Mexico's struggle for independence; fes- 
tivities being held in all parts of the country. At 
the capital they continued during an entire month ; 
and almost every day President Diaz had to pre- 
side at some special function connected with the 
centenary. In Chihuahua the celebration lasted 
for a week. It included the planting of a memorial 
tree in front of our house on Independence Ave- 
nue, which adjoined Trinity Church and was near 
the entrance to a little park which had been 
opened by the municipality a few years before. 
The sky was overcast that morning; and at the 
hour named for the ceremony a gentle rain began 
to fall, causing discomfort to such as had not 
brought their imoibrellas, and some damage to silk 
hats and fine clothes. Just then came a messenger 
to our door with the courteous inquiry whether 
it would be possible to have the doors of the church 
opened, in order that the table with writing mate- 
rials, which had been provided for appending sig- 
natures to a document that was to be preserved 
in the archives of the government in commemora- 



258 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

tion of the event, miglit find shelter within. It may 
be imagined perhaps with what joy I responded to 
the request, sending the janitor to nnlock the iron 
gates and swing wide the doors, revealing the 
beantiful interior of the main auditorium with its 
stained glass windows. Although our templo had 
stood there for eighteen years, some of the per- 
sons who sought shelter under its roof that day 
had never before crossed its threshold, because of 
religious prejudice in that predominantly Roman 
Catholic country. 

For some time previous to the centennial cele- 
bration had been heard low mutterings of discon- 
tent with the political situation, resulting from the 
long continued control of national affairs, and 
those of the several states as well, by one man and 
the comparatively few leaders closely associated 
with him. Occasionally was raised the question, 
not only within but also without the country, 
^^ After "^ Diaz, What?" We knew that in the 
county town of Ciudad Guerrero, nestling at the 
foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains one hundred 
and twenty-five miles to the west of Chihuahua, 
there had been held on Sunday afternoons for 
some months past, meetings of citizens for the 
study of civic questions. One of the members of 
our church there, an intelligent gentleman of good 
family, came to the capital on business and called 
at my study to talk over the situation, during that 
memorable month of festivities. Early in the in- 
terview he showed some agitation of manner ; and 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 259 

at length in a tone which indicated deep feeling 
remarked, to my great surprise: ^'Why, here in 
Mexico we have not as much liberty as do those 
who live in Turkey. Yet, I do not want to shoulder 
a rifle and go out to kill people. Do you not 
think that we might get the United States govern- 
ment to send officials here to supervise our elec- 
tions, as was done by it in Cuba, and see that the 
ballots we cast are counted honestly, in order that 
men who receive the majority of votes may be 
allowed to occupy the positions which they have 
been chosen to fill?'' Of course my reply had to 
be in the negative ; for, it was explained to him, the 
government of my country could not take such a 
step without an invitation to do so coming from 
the Mexican government to which our ambassador 
had been accredited ; and evidently the administra- 
tion of General Diaz would not for one moment 
entertain such an idea. So he went away sorrow- 
ful. 

In many towns there had been formed anti-re- 
election clubs to promote the candidacy of Fran- 
cisco Madero for the presidency. Even women, 
who cannot vote in Mexico, took part in this move- 
ment, and they organized a large club of their own 
in the city of Chihuahua. They asked one of the 
members of our church to preside over their de- 
liberations; but she expressed reluctance to ac- 
cept the office. When they continued to urge it 
upon her, she said: ^^I must take my religion with 
me, and if I occupy the chair I shall open the meet- 



260 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

ing with prayer.'' Her Eoman Catholic sisters 
accepted the condition she laid down. 

On the seventeenth of September we started for 
Montclair, to take our first formal furlough in the 
home land. Soon after arriving, upon invitation 
from the editor of ^^The Missionary Herald/' I 
wrote an article entitled ' ' Modern Mexico, ' ' in the 
course of which was expressed the opinion that the 
Mexican people had enjoyed for so long a time 
the blessings of peace and the material prosperity 
fostered by an enlightened administration, that 
they would not be likely to sympathize with a revo- 
lutionary movement which should endeavor by vio- 
lent means to effect changes which could be se- 
cured in other ways without the shedding of blood. 
The article was printed in full by ^^The Spring- 
field Republican," and portions of it were quoted 
in other periodicals. A copy of the magazine was 
sent to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs ; 
and he wrote a very courteous and pleasing note 
of acknowledgment. 

It is easy to see now how erroneous was the fore- 
cast; and the tremendous upheavals in the world 
during the past eight years have led the most of us 
to feel greater hesitancy in expressing anticipa- 
tions as to what nations will do under the lead of 
determined men. Even before my article came off 
the press, a patient of our son's called fo speak 
with her beloved physician and put him on his 
guard against what might happen. She was not at 
liberty to give explanations, having ^^with great 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 261 

difficulty obtained permission to say so mncli'' as 
she did; but as a friend she advised him to ^^take 
the family and go to El Paso for a visit before the 
twentieth of November." The '^friend'' was a 
cousin of Francisco Orozco, whose father, mother 
and wife were members of our little church near 
Ciudad Guerrero; and who became General 
Orozco, closely associated with Francisco Madero 
in starting the revolt for the overthrow of the 
Diaz administration. The movement began on the 
very day indicated, the plan being to have the 
revolution start simultaneously in several differ- 
ent states; but when some individuals who were 
in the secret gave warning to the authorities, these 
were able to adopt repressive measures, and delay 
at the outset the spread of the revolt. 

Our son determined to stick to his task, and soon 
was in the thick of the disturbances, suffering in- 
conveniences and some privations in the matter 
of food. Indeed, so great was the falling off in 
his professional income, as the result of the de- 
parture of many families, both Mexican and Amer- 
ican, seeking safety from the uncertainties of war- 
fare, that early in the following July he felt it 
advisable to abandon the field where he had done 
so fine a work during seven years. 

From Mexico's Centennial we passed almost im- 
mediately to that of the American Board, which 
was celebrated in Boston in connection with the 
meeting of the National Congregational Council, 
but for one day was transferred to Bradford 



262 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

where is cherished the memory of the wife of 
Adoniram Judson, one of the first company of mis- 
sionaries sent to the foreign field, and where, in 
the presence of a great throng assembled nnder 
the trees, were commissioned the latest recruits 
for apostolic service abroad. After they had been 
addressed by President Samuel Capen, it fell to 
me to offer the prayer setting them apart as 
soldiers of Christ. Also it was my privilege in 
Tremont Temple to make an appeal to Christian 
people to share generously in the enterprise of 
educating, and enlightening spiritually, the many 
millions of our next-door neighbors. 

Our sojourn in the vicinity of New York, includ- 
ing the taking up of residence for a time in the 
metropolis itself in the neighborhood of Teachers 
College, gave many opportunities for hearing fa- 
mous preachers and lecturers, and attending no- 
table functions like the celebration in Carnegie Hall 
of the Tercentenary of the King James version of 
the English Bible, when there was given me a seat 
on the platform which afforded a close up view of 
Ambassador James Bryce. Another rare occasion 
was the dedication of the new buildings of Union 
Theological Seminary, in which connection I saw 
Andrew Carnegie donning his academic gown in 
preparation for joining the procession. After 
having met Dr. J. H. Jowett in Birmingham, and 
heard him preach from the pulpit made famous 
by the ministrations of John Angell James and of 
E. W. Dale, whose combined pastorates covered 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 263 

a period of ninety-five years, it was very interest- 
ing to witness his first appearance in the pulpit 
of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church where 
our party of six were assigned a pew in the center 
of the house because we were recent arrivals from 
Mexico. For Commencement at Columbia Univer- 
sity we were given places in the procession which 
formed on the campus, through our possession of 
cards received by our daughter as a member of 
the class graduating from Teachers College. 

From Columbia University we journeyed to 
Beloit College, the leading feature of whose com- 
mencement program was the installation of the 
Beta of Wisconsin Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. 
The chief address was given by the President of 
the United Chapters, Dr. Edward A. Grosvenor; 
and the charter was delivered with an appropriate 
address by Dean Birge of the State University, 
now President of the same institution. It was an 
inspiring experience to be inducted into the noble 
fellowship that embraces so many men and women 
whose scholarly pursuits and achievements honor 
the institutions of learning to which they owe a 
large share of their best impulses. 

In July we resumed our work in Chihuahua, 
and passed a year that was filled with exciting ex- 
periences occasioned by the conflicts between dif- 
ferent political factions. Some fighting occurred 
within the city itself, buUets striking the tin roof 
of our house and the street below the window be- 
fore which our daughter was standing at the time. 



264 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

We declined an invitation to spend one night of 
special peril with other Americans who sought the 
shelter of the Consulate, assembling for mutual 
protection ; and when an official offered to lend us 
a flag to hoist over our place of residence, we 
thought it would be more conducive to safety of 
our lives and our property, not to attract by that 
means the attention of any chance marauders to 
the dwelling occupied by foreigners. 

One day President Madero arrived from the 
south, and was acclaimed with huzzas by the popu- 
lace and the thousands of pupils from the schools 
that lined both sides of the long avenue leading 
from the railway station to the plaza. At a re- 
ception held in the state house the girls of our 
boarding school and other private institutions 
were most graciously saluted by him, one after 
another; and in the evening at the theater he oc- 
cupied a chair on the stage and listened to several 
addresses by adherents of the new regime. Gen- 
eral Orozco was seated with friends in the alcove 
at the opposite end of the auditorium, and mani- 
fested considerable reluctance to go forward and 
join his former comrade in arms, when a com- 
mittee was sent to escort him to the stage, thus 
showing plainly the beginning of the rift which 
later widened into a serious breach between the 
two in Mexico City. 

On a certain day there marched into our city 
a company of twelve hundred mounted men in citi- 
zens ' clothing, each one wearing around his hat 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 265 

a band of red ribbon on which were printed the 
words ^^Tierra y Trabajo," (Land and Labor). 
During one prolonged period of quiet there was 
held a municipal election, to determine especially 
which of two candidates should occupy the oflSce of 
mayor. Feeling ran high ; and many of us feared 
that whoever might win the majority of votes, the 
partisans of the defeated man would appeal to 
arms. On election day I visited a few of the poll- 
ing places, and found at the table representatives 
of both parties. At a certain place one of the 
election board who recognized me remarked in a 
tranquil tone : ^^ We are going to show that we can 
conduct an election in a peaceable manner, and 
then abide by the result of the balloting.'' And 
sure enough, there was no disturbance whatever; 
the one who had received a majority of the votes 
cast was inducted into office, without a dissenting 
voice being heard from the opposite party. 

At the beginning of the political agitation, we 
Americans in Mexico almost to a man sympathized 
with the Diaz party, although of course we had no 
right to take sides. Naturally our interests were 
bound up with the maintenance of public order, 
and we felt that we could entrust them to the care 
of the educated and influential classes who had 
long been in control of state and national affairs, 
far better than to risk them in the hands of men 
who, whatever might be their good intentions, 
were utterly without experience in matters of 
government. 



266 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

But as time passed and the voices of the humbler 
people came to be heard more clearly, some began 
to realize that these had really suffered from neg- 
lect, misunderstanding and selfish exploitation. 

The pleas they made sounded reasonable to such 
as had received from their fathers the blessings 
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The 
rallying cries were these: (1) Effective Suffrage, 
being allowed to vote freely, and have their votes 
honestly counted; (2) No Eeelection, after their 
experience of one man and his intimate associates 
in power for a third of a century; (3) Equitable 
Taxation, which would reduce the tariff on im- 
ports of prime necessity and increase the imposts 
on articles of luxury, and in line with this, would 
levy a moderate tax upon land in order to dis- 
courage the holding by the owner of vast tracts 
unimproved, and thus encourage the breaking up 
of the immense estates whose existence makes it 
almost impossible for persons of moderate means 
to acquire property in the soil and establish real 
homes ; and (4) General Education, so that the ad- 
vantages enjoyed by the great centers of popula- 
tion might be extended to the people who live in 
the smaller towns and pueblos and on the hacien- 
das. 

With a view to promoting a better understand- 
ing with the Latin American countries in general, 
it would be well worth our while, from a material 
standpoint, aside from the question of what is 
morally right, to endeavor to cultivate a new at- 



POLITICAL UPHEAVALS 267 

titude toward the nearest of them all, Mexico (be- 
cause all are observing our treatment of her), an 
attitude of sympathy with her in her facing of 
difficult problems, and of appreciation of the many 
admirable characteristics of her people, their 
courtesy, hospitality, domestic affection, and love 
of music and flowers and other beautiful things. 
Notwithstanding the unfortunate occurrences in 
the past which have marred relations with our 
Mexican neighbors, we might convince them within 
a comparatively short time, that we are unalter- 
ably opposed to all attempts, by whomsoever made, 
to acquire more of their territory, whether by in- 
vasion or by an offer to purchase ; and that we in- 
tend to respect their national sovereignty, having 
no thought of placing limitations upon it as we did 
in the case of Cuba. 

There are tactful ways for helping Mexico in 
her efforts to develop a background of education, 
social justice and religious enlightenment, against 
which alone can be reared a stable government. 
Her leaders have shown readiness to study our in- 
stitutions in order to learn what methods might 
well be followed in their country. Although it 
was from Germany that President Diaz summoned 
Professor Eebsamen to organize normal schools 
for the training of teachers, with the consequent 
adoption of some of his text-books, President 
Carranza sent a hundred or more of his public 
school teachers to the United States, to study the 
systems of education in New York and New Eng- 



268 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

land. When he was governor of the State of 
Coahnila, he had for superintendent of public in- 
struction Don Andres Osuna, formerly a Metho- 
dist minister, who was educated at Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity and the Massachusetts State Normal 
School at Bridgewater. Many of the civil authori- 
ties in that country welcome the cooperation of 
the great Protestant mission boards in the work 
of general enlightenment, and highly appreciate 
what these are doing along educational, social wel- 
fare and industrial lines ; and some of the officials 
are in sympathy with their moral and religious 
undertakings as well. 

The United States ought to take the part of a big 
sister toward the Eepublic on the south, not only 
showing her the path of material prosperity, and 
of a true democracy in which the voice of the 
majority shall prevail peaceably, but also ready to 
share with her the highest moral and spiritual 
ideals which alone make a nation truly happy and 
permanently great. 




Church Edifice in Portland, Dedicated in 1895 



CHAPTEE XX 

SOME JOURNEYS AND FAMILY REUNIONS 

For the sake of my children I may be permitted 
to group together here some of the experiences 
which have not found a place in my narrative thus 
far, but which they would be unwilling to have 
me omit from my life story. 

In 1895, nineteen years after we had said fare- 
well to the friends in Portland, Oregon, we re- 
ceived in Mexico an invitation from the First Con- 
gregational Church to attend the dedication of 
their new house of worship, a stone edifice with 
massive tower closely patterned after that of the 
new Old South Church in Boston. On our way 
northward, accompanied by our little daughter, we 
spent a happy week in Oakland with a couple 
whom ^^we married" in Portland immediately 
after beginning life together in 1875. We renewed 
acquaintance with my revered teacher, E. A. 
Donaldson, with Eev. Walter Frear, representing 
on the Pacific Coast the American Board, with 
Drs. William C. Pond and John K. McLean. Illus- 
trative lectures on Mexico were given in Alameda, 
in the First Church of Oakland, and the First 

269 



270 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

Church of San Francisco where we had been mar- 
ried by Dr. Stone. 

The route of our farther travel followed pretty 
closely the old stage road, of rather rough riding 
and thrilling experiences; and we saw from the 
station at Strawberry Valley the very same inn 
where we had stopped over Sunday on our wed- 
ding journey. Arrived at Portland we were met 
at the train by old friends, one of whom conducted 
us to ^^The HilP^ and placed at our disposal, for 
as long a time as we might feel disposed to re- 
main, a commodious apartment from whose front 
window was had a magnificent view of the Eose 
City with Mount Hood in the distance. From time 
to time were we invited to the tables of other 
friends, and returning would find our room 
adorned with flowers. The dedicatory sermon was 
preached by Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus of Chicago ; 
and the consecrating prayer was offered by the 
missionary from Mexico, who was the only former 
pastor present, although three widows of former 
pastors were there. 

^'Himes the Printer'^ who was clerk of the 
church in the old days, showed himself as much 
alive as ever, and he is still active as curator of the 
Oregon Historical Society. Searching the records 
he discovered that after so long an interval of 
time there were still in the congregation sixty 
persons who were connected with church or 
Bible school during my pastorate. A lady member 
of the church, who was a stranger to us, had pre- 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 271 

viously arranged by letter for me to bring stere- 
opticon views of Mexico to illustrate a lecture to 
be given after the dedication for the benefit of 
a home missionary enterprise in Oregon City, 
When she called on us, the discovery was made 
that she was from Meriden, Connecticut, and felt 
deeply indebted to the wife's grandfather for 
favors received in her girlhood. Upon a leaf in 
our autograph album she wrote : 

To Gertrude Pratt Eaton: Hitherto strangers upon 
life's ocean I hasten, while for a brief moment our 
barks touch at the same port, to acknowledge the debt 
of gratitude to that grand old man thy grandfather, 
Julius Pratt, which shall bind me to thee and thine 
while memory lasts. 

There were other interesting interviews and en- 
counters with various persons, such as the vener- 
able Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
B. Wistar Morris, who was the first clergyman to 
call upon the young stripling of a minister almost 
a score of years before ; Professor W. D. Lyman 
of Whitman College who in his senior year at 
Forest Grove University in 1873 had engaged the 
Portland pastor to address the students at com- 
mencement ; and Professor I. A. Macrum w^ho had 
made a little speech at the time of the presentation 
of the watch. A Japanese minister from Mat- 
suyama, delighted to meet one who had been a 
fellow student at Andover with the founder of the 
Doshisha, wrote in my album : 



272 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

An unworthy pupil of Joseph Neeshima to whom I 
owe all the inspirations of my Christian life. 

Be like a king over thyself, 

Be like a servant to thy neighbor, and 

Be like a child to thy God. 

— My Christianity. 

Dr. Gunsanlus was at the same hotel with our- 
selves, and he wrote in our book the significant 
lines, 

Be sure that on life's common street 
Are crossways where God's chariots meet. 

The return journey w^as made via Puget Sound, 
with sojourns in its w^onderful cities, and thence 
by steamer to San Francisco. We came away 
deeply grateful for the many courtesies that had 
been shown us, and with a fresh realization of the 
high privilege which had been ours in the past in 
being officially connected with a church of so long 
and honorable a history; while at the same time 
we were thoroughly content to return to Mexico 
and the work of uplift and spiritual renewal in 
a field where we were pioneers. 

The year 1897 was made memorable for us as 
a family by several events. The first was the 
Golden Wedding anniversary of my parents on 
the twentieth of May, which was celebrated by 
the cKurch in Eoscoe, Illinois, t(>^ which they had 
been mininstering for eleven ye ''rs. Former pa- 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 273 

rishioners came from Lancaster, Wisconsin, to 
bring their loving tributes of appreciation of the 
services which had been rendered to that com- 
munity, together with a gift of gold coins. There 
were representatives from Beloit College with 
which the family was so closely connected, and 
ministers from neighboring churches. But most 
interesting of all was the presence of the four 
sons, who had not been able to meet together since 
the year of the silver wedding, and of the children 
of two of them. Each one of the four in turn 
gave expression to his sentiments of love and ad- 
miration for his honored parents and of gratitude 
for all they had done by their teaching and ex- 
ample to create a beautiful home life and to send 
their sons out into the world with ideals which had 
always served as guiding stars to be trusted. 

One month later the college also celebrated its 
semicentennial, with reviews by a number of its 
graduates of the part it had borne in the life of 
the nation and of the world, and receiving the con- 
gratulations and good wishes of sister institutions. 
It fell to me to give the address on Sunday morn- 
ing before the Christian Associations, taking for 
the subject, ^^ Beloit 's Enthusiasm for Humanity; 
Its Source and Aim.'' On Commencement Day oc- 
curred the conferring of honorary degrees, three 
of them being that of Doctor of Divinity. The 
recipients were a professor in a theological sem- 
inary, the president of a college and a foreign mis- 
sionary, all of i hem graduates of the college that 



274 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

was recalling the outstanding events of the fifty 
years of its service to humanity. 

Sandwiched in between the golden wedding and 
the college commencement was a meeting of 
the International Missionary Union at Clifton 
Springs, New York, where we were guests of the 
Sanitarium for a week. On the opening night the 
roll call disclosed the fact that there were as- 
sembled together exactly one hundred and twenty 
men and women representing all the continents 
of the world and some of its islands. It vividly 
recalled what was written of that assembly in 
the upper room at Jerusalem on the day of Pente- 
cost, and was a suggestion to us, all through the 
week, of the gifts and graces that are available 
to those who truly seek the indwelling of the 
Divine Spirit. Indeed, that was the subject of an 
intimate talk early in the sessions by Dr. Foster, 
the founder of the institution, who sought to make 
us realize that the Spirit, like the air we breathe, 
pervades all and will enter and fill everyone who 
will make room for Him. 

Overlapping some of the events mentioned 
above, was the Pratt Family Eeunion in Mont- 
clair ; lasting for an entire month and comprising 
a series of celebrations in great variety of at- 
tractions, outdoor excursions and indoor gather- 
ings, with songs and games and reminiscences. 
All of the children and their life partners came 
together, and many of the grandchildren, for this 
domestic festival; and on one of the evenings the 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 275 

patriarch of all read extracts from the autobi- 
ography he had been writing, which pictured his 
early life in a New England home. At intervals 
through all the happy time of the reunion was 
sounded a note of tender recollection of the two — 
the one who with her spouse had formed the united 
head of the family, and their eldest daughter — 
who had passed beyond our sight. 

In May of the year 1900 we journeyed again to 
Wisconsin in order that I might give a course of 
eight lectures at Beloit College, on the Porter 
Foundation, under the general title ^^ Spanish 
America, in its History, Characteristics and Pros- 
pects, with Special Reference to the Christian 
Church and the Anglo-Saxon Civilization. ' ' Some 
of them were illustrated with stereopticon views ; 
and the concluding lecture was accorded a hearing 
by the entire student body, as it was given on 
a Sunday afternoon in the chapel. 

Our son graduated with the class of that year ; 
and we journeyed together to Washington in order 
that he might become acquainted with the capital 
of the country, and in the hope that we might be 
presented to President McKinley. For this hope 
there was good ground in the two facts, that a 
friend of my youth was then at the head of the 
Pension Bureau, and that a son of one of my 
father's classmates and intimate associates in col- 
lege was private secretary to the President. After 
luncheon we called at the White House and sent 
in our cards. On the back of mine was written 



276 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

with pencil, ^^Yale 1842'%- and the response of the 
secretary was immediate and most cordiaL We 
were invited to return at four o'clock, *^ after the 
President shall have received the public in the 
East Eoom/' There was some delay owing to a re- 
quest which had come from the governor of one 
of the southern states for federal troops to aid 
in preserving public order which was menaced in 
a certain city; and Mr. McKinley was closeted 
with the Secretary of War to study the situation. 
After a while those who were waiting in the ante- 
room were dismissed for that day by the private 
secretary; and he ushered us into the cabinet room 
where the two officials were in conference. With 
the Secretary of War I was able to speak concern- 
ing his brother who had business interests in our 
part of Mexico. When I ventured to express my 
satisfaction with the recent nomination of Presi- 
dent Angell of the University of Michigan to be 
Minister to Turkey, the President replied: ^^I 
think that is about the best nomination I ever 
made; and he is a persona grata, and is going !'^ 
When we were taking our departure the wonder- 
ful faculty of President McKinley for remember- 
ing the names of those whom he had met at any 
time was shown in the final words, spoken in al- 
most the affectionate manner of a father to his 
son, ^ ^ Good-bye, Howard. ' ' This surprised me be- 
cause I myself did not remember that he had been 
told by what name the young man was known in 
the family and by intimate friends. 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 277 

The following year was held in our beautiful 
temple in Chihuahua, appropriately decorated for 
the solemn occasion, a memorial service, in which 
the American Consul took a leading part, and 
which was attended by a great concourse of our 
countrymen, and by many prominent Mexicans as 
well who had received an invitation to accompany 
us, the same having been printed in their own 
language and, in accordance with the custom of 
the country, on a folded sheet of paper heavily 
bordered with the emblem of mourning. The an- 
nouncement in English was as follows: — 

In Memory of 
President William McKinley 

A Ceremony expressive of respect for the dis- 
tinguished dead, and of sympathy for the afflicted 
people of the United States, will be held in Trinity 
Church, 

Sunday, September 15, at 4 p.m. 

All members of the American Colony and their 
friends are respectfully invited to be present. 

Soon after the visit to the White House I sailed 
for Southampton and the London Convention, as 
narrated in a previous chapter. After that event, 
was enjoyed a summer of travel, the details of 
which need not be given in these pages because for 
the most part they are so familiar to the public; 
but some of my experiences it may be worth while 
to record. The trip on the continent carried me 
through Belgium to Cologne on the Rhine, and up 



278 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

that historic river past the numerous castles on its 
banks. From windows in one after another of 
them groups of ladies gaily waved their handker- 
chiefs in friendly greeting, thus aiding us in a sort 
of day dream to imagine ourselves transported 
back to mediaeval times when chivalrous knights 
wore the favors of those whose honor they de- 
fended. 

We were in Oberammergau over Sunday, to wit- 
ness the Passion Play; a company of six of us 
lodged in the house of one who took the part of 
Simon Peter, but who at the dinner hour assisted 
the women in waiting upon their guests. The play 
began at eight o^clock and lasted until five, with 
only an intermission of one hour at noon for rest 
and refreshment. All was conducted in a deeply 
religious manner, and was profoundly moving to 
everyone familiar with the gospel story; so that 
when the vivid reproduction of the tragedy in 
Jerusalem was finished some of us felt as if we too 
had been with the disciples and the women gazing 
in sorrow and love at the Crucified. At the very 
time of the most intense emotion there came a tre- 
mendous clap of thunder from the black clouds 
that had gathered over our heads, and it rever- 
berated among the encircling mountains in a terri- 
fying way; the rain fell in torrents, drench- 
ing the chorus and obliging the participants for 
some moments to suspend their action. It seemed 
as if in very truth the heavens themselves were 
expressing abhorrence of the deed of shame. A 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 279 

gentleman from Chicago^ who was an unbeliever, 
remarked of the Passion Play: ^^I went to mock, 
but I remained to pray.'' 

Many pages of my diary are filled with accounts 
of the sojourn in Munich, the visit to Swiss 
lakes and the Rhigi, and the week in Paris and its 
environs. It was the year of the Exposition, and 
the city was full of foreigners. One day on the 
Champs Elysees I met the Shah of Persia being 
driven in great state accompanied by high 
officials of the French government in carriages. 
Sunday was filled with interesting experiences: 
early attendance at the Russian Church, then to 
the American Church and the Christian Endeavor 
meeting at ten o'clock under the lead of a Japa- 
nese pastor who was delegate to a convention of 
students, followed by the eleven o'clock service 
under the lead of the pastor. Dr. E. G. Thurber, 
and with a masterly sermon by Dr. Archibald 
McCuUock of Worcester, Massachusetts. The en- 
tire afternoon was spent, together with a few con- 
genial friends, in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise, 
whose gates of entrance are a preparation for go- 
ing into a place of worship and meditation; for 
without are sculptured in Latin the words, ^^He 
that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall 
he live," and ^^ Their sure hope of immortality"; 
and on the inside we saw, chiseled also in stone, 
an hourglass with wings, and lighted torches. As 
we wandered along the passageways, and came 
upon the resting-places of illustrious men to whom 



280 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

the world owes so much, we seemed to be treading 
the aisles of another Westminster Abbey. For we 
read there the names of statesmen like H. Thiers, 
of Scientists like La Place and Gay-Lussac, of 
writers like Moliere and La Fontaine, of the musi- 
cian Chopin, of Hahnemann the founder of a 
school of medicine, of Abelard and Heloise, be- 
sides those of soldiers who in the Franco-Prussian 
War of 1870-71 gave their lives for the fatherland. 
At the grave of Allan Kardec I gathered leaves 
of ivy to carry back to Mexico and bestow upon 
some prominent spiritualists who had honored me 
with their friendship. In the evening I attended 
the principal place of worship of the McCall Mis- 
sion in the Eue Royal near the Church of the 
Madeleine. After the service the evangelist in 
charge was ready to answer frankly all my ques- 
tions. He said that the priests who leave the 
Roman Church generally react into infidelity, and 
that the Roman hierarchy is regaining much of its 
former power. At one time the Scottish lady who 
had presided at the small pipe organ, cautioned 
us not to let others hear us talking English with 
her, because the French enemies of their work 
charged that all was being supported by the Eng- 
lish with the ulterior aim of gaining political ad- 
vantage. This sounded very familiar to one who 
had heard in Mexico the often repeated calumny 
that the evangelical missions there were in fact a 
disguised movement to bring about a peaceful an- 
nexation of that country to the United States. 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 281 

Returning across the English Channel, I de- 
voted three weeks to a solitary tour in England 
and Scotland, after taking one of Cook's drives 
over London to refresh my memory in regard to 
the leading points of interest which had been 
visited twenty years before. It was surprising 
to find how many material improvements had been 
made in that old city during the interval, as for 
example the widening of some of the main thor- 
oughfares and the construction of the underground 
electric ^^Tube.'' At one point in order to reach 
the train it was necessary to descend eighty feet 
below the surface. One had the choice of three 
different ways to make the connection ; a staircase 
of one hundred and fifty-five steps, an inclined walk 
or an elevator. It was interesting to make trial 
of all three. In Westminster Abbey and Saint 
Paul's it was noticed that many graves had been 
.added in the same length of time ; those of Deans 
Stanley and Milman, Canon Liddon, Tennyson and 
Browning, Gladstone and Disraeli, General * ^ Chi- 
nese" Gordon and Millais. 

In Ely Cathedral it was my privilege to meet 
the Dean and, upon a suggestion previously given 
in private by the verger, assure him of the deep 
interest taken by the people of Montclair in his 
illustrated lecture not long before on that marvel- 
ous structure. During my stay in York was held 
in the Minster a service in memory of the Duke of 
Edinburgh, the Archbishop of York reading the 
lessons and the collects. A seat in the choir was 



282 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

given me. Their beautiful singing ended with 
^^God save the Queen/' All through the service, 
at considerable intervals of time, we heard strokes 
of the great bell tolling; and after the benediction 
was played Chopin's Funeral March. Another 
service in memory of the Duke was held simul- 
taneously in Saint Paul's Cathedral, conducted 
by the Archbishop of Canterbury. To me Canter- 
bury Cathedral was the most interesting of all the 
cathedrals I was permitted to visit; so imposing 
in its dimensions, so rich in its monuments, and 
possessing a lofty crypt which furnished a place 
of refuge for many of the Huguenots when they 
fled from France after the revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes. In that crypt they lived and worked 
at their trade as weavers, and to this day their 
descendants meet for worship in the same retreat. 
The trip through Scotland included of course 
Edinburgh and vicinity, boating on the Lochs, and 
coaching through the Trossachs, to Glasgow. 
Then the English Lakes and Wordsworth's coun- 
try. From the old walled town of Chester it was 
inevitable that I should take the river trip to 
Eaton Hall, palace of the Duke of Westminster, 
which is open to the public from the middle of 
May to the middle of September. From the steam- 
boat landing it is a drive of nearly a mile through 
the grounds to the gates of the palace. Grounds 
and buildings are a dream of beauty and grandeur. 
An old retainer told me that he had been all 
through Windsor Castle, but that in it there was 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 283 

nothing to compare with the furnishings of this 
place; that the buildings alone cost two million 
pounds sterling, and are insured in several dif- 
ferent companies. The young duke, twenty-one 
years of age, was at that time in Africa. 

Both Oxford and Cambridge Universities were 
included in my itinerary, friends in both places 
helping to create something of a home atmosphere, 
and directing my steps to the shrines most impor- 
tant to be visited by a stranger from over seas. 
In Cambridge especially a letter of introduction 
to a famous biologist led to the offer from his wife 
to be my guide through the college halls, chapels 
and quadrangles. In the Senate Hall at the time 
was a meeting addressed by A. J. Balfour who was 
opening a '^University Extension'^ course ; and we 
met him and other professors walking thither, 
arrayed in scarlet gowns. Not only were the build- 
ings covered largely with ivy and other vines, as 
at Oxford; but the grounds were more profusely 
adorned with flowers than was the case at Oxford, 
boxes of the growing plants being seen on the sills 
of almost all the windows; and many magnolia 
trees were in bloom. 

My visit to Stratford was greatly enriched by 
making the acquaintance of Professor John T. 
Young, F.R.G.S., at the Fountain Inn where both 
of us were lodged. He was an enthusiastic anti- 
quarian and student of Shakespeare, accustomed 
to spend his summer vacations in that town. 
While we were breakfasting together he offered 



284 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

to show me some ancient remains which were sel- 
dom brought to the attention of tourists ; and this 
resulted in his serving as my guide during the en- 
tire morning. In this way we visited Shake- 
speare's birthplace, school, tomb in the church, and 
the Memorial, comprising theater, picture gallery 
and library. Professor Young showed me the won- 
derful view from the tower of this building, and 
urged me to gaze on it with the conscious effort 
to impress it indelibly upon the memory. The 
effort was successful, as shown by the vividness 
with which is recalled to this day the church, the 
winding river and the surrounding landscape. De- 
scending to the ground and pausing before the 
statue of the poet, my guide remarked that never 
was he able to look at that figure, whose face was 
turned toward the church which guarded the sa- 
cred dust, without deep emotion. 

On the last Sunday in England it was my privi- 
lege to attend a vesper service in Westminster Ab- 
bey. There was gathered an assemblage which 
completely filled the transepts when I entered at 
half -past six o'clock; but a seat was given me in 
the choir. The service was of a delightfully infor- 
mal character, with singing by the congregation 
only, led by the organ, of the familiar hymns, 
*^Eock of Ages," ^^How sweet the name of Jesus 
sounds," '^Love divine, all love excelling," and 
^^ Abide with me; fast falls the eventide." The 
preacher was Canon Gore who took for his text, ^^I 
will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up 



SOME JOURNEYS AND REUNIONS 285 

holy hands, without wrath and doubting. ' ' It was 
a most satisfying ending to my sojourn in Great 
Britain; and I was loath to leave that place hal- 
lowed, as is no other spot, by rich associations 
with the history and the religious life of a great 
people. 



CHAPTEE XXI 

IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 

In the summer of 1912 the decision was made to 
sunder the ties binding us to Mexico, which had 
become very strong through our residence there, 
in the same city, for thirty years. It was the ad- 
vice of physicians that we remove our place of 
residence to Los Angeles, California. 

In ^^The Chihuahua Enterprise'^ of November 
16, 1912, appeared our farewell letter to the Eng- 
lish-speaking people of that city, prefaced by these 
kind words from the editor: ^^For many years 
Dr. Eaton has been identified with church work in 
this state ; and the great strides made by his de- 
nomination in this territory have been due to his 
untiring energy and devotion. The people of this 
city and especially the parishioners of Trinity 
Church will regret his retirement and departure ; 
but wherever God's missionaries go the world is 
benefited, and Chihuahua's loss in Dr. Eaton is 
another's gain." The letter, after giving the rea- 
son for our going and stating what arrangements 
had been made for filling the vacancy, concluded 
as follows : ' ' Mrs. Eaton unites with me in express- 
ing hearty appreciation of the courtesies shown us 

286 




Mrs. Gertrude Pratt Eaton 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 287 

and the confidence reposed in us during the many 
years past. We can never forget the friends we 
have known, some of whom have grown up from 
childhood under our eyes. May Heaven's richest 
blessing abide with them all! We are sure that 
Mexico will emerge from the present trying condi- 
tions to occupy an important place in the sister- 
hood of nations. May she soon enjoy the blessings 
of peace, and consequently a large measure of 
material prosperity. But may all of her citizens 
come to realize the truth of that proverb of the 
Hebrew people to whom we owe the foundation 
of our Christianity, ^Eighteousness exalteth a 
nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. ' And 
may all of you who have come to establish your- 
selves here in business remember that what counts 
in the long run, is not what you have, but what 
you are. High ideals, sterling character, brotherly 
kindness, reverence toward God, responsiveness 
to the unseen spiritual forces — these are the things 
which are grandly worth while. Let us all try to 
realize them more fully than we have yet done.'^ 
At the next annual meeting of the Mexico Mis- 
sion was adopted the following minute: ^^ Re- 
solved that we deplore the necessity for the with- 
drawal of Dr. and Mrs. Eaton from our number; 
and, remembering the consecrated and faithful 
service which they have rendered during the years 
past, we wish to express our appreciation of their 
offering of love in the transfer of their home to 
the Board for the use of the Mission. ' ' 



288 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

As to the happy years which have been passed 
in Southern California, many of our experiences 
here are still fresh in the memory of wife and chil- 
dren, and need not be recounted in these pages. 
Yet it may be permissible to record a few of the 
outstanding events of this latest period of our life 
under two flags. Underneath them all is the com- 
fortable assurance that we took just the right step 
in coming here to establish our final home. For 
not only are conditions here favorable to health, 
so that to each of us, seemingly, has been granted 
a new lease of life ; but the life is enriched with an 
abundance of the highest kinds of enjoyment, and 
with opportunities for forms of service to which 
our training and experience in the past most in- 
cline us, to an extent which could not possibly be 
the case for us in any other part of the land. Among 
the residents here we have found classmates or 
schoolmates dating back more than half a century, 
whether in academy, college or seminary ; families 
of relatives on both sides ; many Americans who 
were our friends in Chihuahua, some of them asso- 
ciated with our church or school life there; and 
many Mexicans who might be classified in a simi- 
lar manner. It is the simple truth to say that we 
feel more at home here than either one of us could 
in the place of birth, because time has wrought so 
many changes in the distant communities. 

Nor are we limited to association with relatives 
and old friends who live here. For the lure of 
this favored region is such as to attract, at all 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 289 

seasons of the year, a multitude of tourists repre- 
senting every section of the country; and with 
them come many who are closely knit to us by ties 
of kindred and affection. It is a common remark 
here, that all one needs to do in order to meet any 
desired person, is simply to wait long enough, and 
that person will surely be encountered on the 
street or in some place of public assembly. 

Besides all this, it is gratifying to elderly people 
to be assured that they still may be of some use in 
the world, and that their assistance is really 
needed in certain directions. Almost limitless 
have been our opportunities for speaking in be- 
half of Christian undertakings in Mexico, before 
churches, women's societies, men's brotherhoods, 
clubs, schools, minsters' meetings, and other as- 
semblies large and small. Particularly were we 
glad to show our friendship for Mexico during the 
years of revolution and sporadic disturbances be- 
low our southern border, when there was wide- 
spread misunderstanding of the real situation, and 
so much of gross misrepresentation in the public 
press by designing men who were promoting self- 
ish interests. 

In each of the three churches here to which we 
have belonged successively, has it been our privi- 
lege to render various forms of service. The Con- 
gregational Ministerial Union of Los Angeles, 
which maintains an average membership of sixty 
clergymen, has retained me for the past eight 
years as their secretary-treasurer. There have 



290 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

been sustained other relations of interest, as with 
the Society, Sons of the Eevolution, the Sons of 
Veterans and the City Club. Mrs. Eaton is a busy 
person, occupying positions of responsibility in 
various organizations of women, being in con- 
stant demand as a public speaker on Mexico and 
its needs, and having been privileged to secure 
among friends pledges of generous sums to pro- 
mote educational work on the west coast. 

In 1917, our son-in-law, Rev. L. Frank McGinty, 
without waiting to be drafted into the service of 
his country when she entered the World War, en- 
listed in the regular army and was assigned to 
Company C in the Twenty-fifth Engineers. After 
receiving intensive training in Fort McDowell 
near San Francisco, and in Camp Devens in Mas- 
sachusetts, on the first of the following January 
he was ordered over seas, and saw active and 
dangerous service in France, including the last 
six weeks before the armistice, in the Argonne 
Forest. Before the return of our troops he was 
engaged, as one of a small group of actors and 
musicians, for months in giving entertainments to 
the men in the several camps. He received his 
discharge from the service in June, 1919. Our 
son, Howard Demarest Eaton, M.D., entered the 
service as a medical officer ; and although he was 
not sent over seas, he was able to render important 
service in the line of his specialty, diseases of the 
heart and the lungs, in the hospital at Camp 
Custer, Michigan, when so many of our soldiers 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 291 

were suffering from the ravages of the influenza. 
He was promoted to the rank of Captain, and be- 
longs to the Medical Eeserve Corps. The proud 
mother wore a pin with two stars to indicate the 
nature of the offering made by the family. 

In the year 1919 there came to me an oppor- 
tunity to serve the interests of missions in 
Mexico, through helping to carry out plans which 
had been adopted by the different societies for a 
friendly distribution of territory. In readjusting 
the respective fields of labor of the American 
Board and the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, it became necessary for these two organi- 
zations to arrange for exchanging a part of their 
properties which had been acquired for use as 
churches, schools and residences, and which were 
distributed over an area comprising half a dozen 
different states of the neighboring Republic. Each 
society made a list of its holdings affected by the 
exchange, indicating the location, dimensions and 
value of each and the nature of its legal tenure; 
and they appointed commissioners to make per- 
sonal examination of the several plants, and after- 
ward come to an agreement concerning the valua- 
tions of the same, which would of course deter- 
mine the amount of the balance to be paid by one 
board to the other in settlement of the account. 

As the representative of the Ajnerican Board 
(the other one named three commissioners), it be- 
came my task to visit the fields in question, con- 
sulting en route with missionaries, and having the 



292 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

company of one and another for a considerable 
share of the journey. Varied were the means of 
transportation; railway trains, both passenger 
and freight, automobiles, steamer on the Pacific 
Ocean between the ports of Mazatlan and Man- 
zanillo, rowboat and gasoline launch, horse-drawn 
vehicles and trolley cars. Throughout one day's 
ride on a Southern Pacific train along the low and 
fertile western coast we were guarded by an 
armored car filled with federal soldiers, against 
possible attack by bandits. Again in the bar- 
ren and mountainous region of San Luis Potosi, 
where the roadbed has been carried through ex- 
cavations in the solid rock and is marked by many 
curves, our train was preceded at a short interval 
by a pilot locomotive pulling a box car which con- 
tained soldiers prepared to shoot any miscreants 
who might have placed obstructions on the track 
for the purpose of facilitating robbery of the pas- 
sengers. But no untoward event occurred during 
all my journey of six weeks. 

It was reassuring to see so many men at work 
in the fields, or occupying themselves in other 
peaceful pursuits, as if they had never heard of 
revolutions. In the city of Monterey, while wait- 
ing for the arrival of Bishop Cannon, I was privi- 
leged to attend a political meeting which was held 
to promote the candidacy of General Alvaro Ob- 
regon for the ofl&ce of President. Some six hun- 
dred men assembled in the principal theater ; and 
five addresses were made, most of them in the style 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 293 

of voluble and impassioned oratory usual in Latin 
American countries, and some of them voiced 
sharp criticism of certain acts of the Carranza 
administration. But from beginning to end the 
most perfect order prevailed, like that which char- 
acterizes an assembly in our own country at a 
lecture or concert. It is doubtful if such irre- 
proachable behavior by hundreds of men only, at 
a political gathering, could be surpassed, if in- 
deed matched, anywhere in the United States. 
Furthermore, there was not to be seen a single 
policeman about the building, although the guar- 
dians of public order were not wanting in other 
parts of the city; and this notwithstanding the fact 
that President Carranza had recently made him- 
self very unpopular in that state by imposing upon 
it a governor who was generally disliked by the 
citizens. Before the meeting began I got into con- 
versation with a man of evident respectability who 
was willing to talk frankly with one who spoke his 
language and was acquainted with his country. 
Among other things he said, in a low tone of voice 
and with a quiet manner : ^ ^ We are not saying very 
much in public about General Obregon; but a lot 
of us are going to vote for him.^' 

On the fifth of February early in the morning 
I was aroused from sleep by the sound of jangling 
bells and of exploding bombs in celebration of the 
anniversary of the promulgation of the Eeform 
Laws. There sprung up in my heart the hope that 
on that auspicious day the representatives of the 



294 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

two boards might reach an agreement as to the 
terms on which the contemplated exchange of 
properties could be effected. Only the night be- 
fore had four of ns met in a social way, and agreed 
to begin our task in the morning; but before the 
sun set, our signatures were appended to a docu- 
ment embodying the result that had been arrived 
at without dijBficulty, and which later was ratified 
by the American Board in the precise form in 
which it had been drawn up. 

Commenting upon the event, ^^The Missionary 
Herald'^ in an editorial reported that the Metho- 
dist brethren had already begun the payment of in- 
terest upon the balance which was due our board, 
to be continued until they shall have secured un- 
questioned power under Mexican law to convey 
and to receive mission property ; spoke of the fra- 
ternal conferences between officials of the two or- 
ganizations as making for ^^ closer cooperation 
in helping to develop the Evangelical Church of 
Mexico ' ' ; and added what it may be permissible to 
put on record here, as a part of the heritage which 
the writer of this little story of a life would trans- 
mit to his children: ^^ Toward this end. Dr. James 
D. Eaton of Los Angeles rendered conspicuous 
service. His knowledge of Mexico through years 
of life there as an American Board missionary, his 
long experience as treasurer of our mission before 
he retired from active service, his high sense of 
justice, his wisdom, tact and friendliness, all these 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 295 

made such an impression upon the Methodist rep- 
resentatives that they have not yet ceased to re- 
mark upon the ease with which all saw ^ eye to eye' 
at their conference. We are glad in this public 
way to express the Board's gratitude to one who 
gave so freely of his time and strength to this 
deputation work, and who so conducted negotia- 
tions as to inspire to greater unity in spiritual 
work. ' ' 

While tracing through the years experiences in 
the Middle West and on both coasts of our broad 
land, and particularly those which filled so full my 
life under the flag of a sister republic, I have 
found new motives for joy and thanksgiving over 
the way in which the earthly existence for me has 
unfolded. Mistakes indeed have occurred, certain 
of my youthful ideals and aspirations have not 
been realized, disappointments and losses have 
not been wanting, and achievements have not 
measured up to opportunities. But we need 
not try to punish ourselves by lamenting that we 
have done so little, or did it so poorly. We have 
an understanding and compassionate Father who 
is more willing to forgive and forget than we are 
to ask Him to do so, who knows how to bring 
good out of what seems to be evil, and who may be 
trusted to carry us on toward the goal which has 
been set by Infinite Wisdom and Love. 

Wife and I remember with tender interest the 
several homes we established together, each of 



296 LIFE UNDER TWO FLAGS 

them connected in our minds with some event in the 
family history ; Portland and the first housekeep- 
ing, Bound Brook and our firstborn, Chihuahua 
and its four successive dwellings associated with 
various occurrences but especially with the advent 
of the dear daughter, Los Angeles and the cottage 
on Hayes Avenue, which for a period sheltered 
her little family, and from time to time has wel- 
comed relatives and friends coming to visit this 
favored southland. For years now the cot- 
tage has had for a companion a bungalow built 
especially to house the younger family; and the 
two dwellings almost enclose a garden of flowers 
and fruit trees, thus suggesting the Spanish cus- 
tom of building an ample house around a patio, 
which assures a degree of privacy for the inmates 
while affording them opportunity for enjoying 
nature 's beauty and bounty. 

For almost half a century have we had each 
other, and have enjoyed the many friendships on 
both sides which were gained through our mar- 
riage, and in addition those which have been won 
during the succeeding years. 

To that accumulation of wealth, which cannot 
be measured by material standards, there are be- 
ing added continually other riches through our 
sharing with children and grandchildren their ex- 
periences which at times are of thrilling interest 
and bring increase of sympathy and affection. 

Now are we tasting the sweets of ^Hhe last of 



IN THE HOME LAND AGAIN 297 

life for which the first was made'%- and we are sure 
there is to be no abatement of its joys here ; and 
*^The Great Adventure'^ itself, when the time 
comes for that, will introduce us to what is higher 
and holier and happier still. 



THE END 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2005 

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